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Jacksonville Jaguars: 5 Coaches to Replace Urban Meyer

By Christopher Thomas

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 26: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars rolls out of the pocket during the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 26, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 26: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars rolls out of the pocket during the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 26, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 16: Detroit Lions head football coach Jim Caldwell watches the action late in the fourth quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on December 16, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit defeated Chicago 20-10. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 16: Detroit Lions head football coach Jim Caldwell watches the action late in the fourth quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on December 16, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit defeated Chicago 20-10. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Jim Caldwell: Former Assistant Head Coach & Quarterbacks Coach, Miami Dolphins

There is no head coach in recent memory who has had as unfortunate luck as Jim Caldwell. There are not many candidates this cycle that deserves an opportunity to lead a football team as much as Caldwell. After seeing head coaches like Urban Meyer, Adam Gase, Matt Patricia, and Joe Judge it is astonishing that Caldwell hasn’t coached an NFL game since 2017.

Caldwell began his career as the quarterback coach for Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy’s Buccaneers staff. Then Caldwell followed Dungy to Indianapolis where they won a Super Bowl together. Caldwell eventaully replaced Dungy once he retired. He went 14-2 in his first season as head coach and led the Colts to the Super Bowl. Indianapolis went 2-14 during the 2011-12 season because Peyton Manning missed the season due to a neck injury. The Colts fired Caldwell after the season despite having a 26-22 record and two playoff appearances with the team.

His next job was with the Baltimore Ravens as their quarterback coach. During the season he was named the interim and then perminant offensive coordinator. Caldwell’s offense played a huge role in the Baltimore Raven Super Bowl victory against the San Francisco 49ers in 2013.

Caldwell’s work with Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense earned him another opportunity to be an NFL head coach with the Detroit Lions. They went 11-5 during his first season and made the playoffs as a wild card team. The following season Detroit went 7-9 and missed the playoffs. But in Caldwell’s third season in Detroit they went 9-7 and made the playoffs again. He was shockingly fired after having a 27-21 record and two playoff apperances with Detroit. It is worth noting that the Lions haven’t had a winning season since firing Caldwell and were forced to start a major rebuild because of the damage done by his replacement Matt Patricia.

During the next coaching cycle Caldwell interviewed for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and Cleveland Browns vacancies. After a year off Caldwell was hired by then Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores to be the team’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. However he took a leave from the team due to some health issues before the start of the season. Caldwell hasn’t been employeed by an NFL team since.

Looking back at his head coaching career Caldwell has had success with both the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions. He posted a 53-43 record and has been to the playoffs four of his seven seasons as a head coach. The Jacksonville Jaguars should not only be interested in his winning resume but also that he has gotten great production out of the quarterbacks he has coached including two former first overall picks in Peyton Manning and Matthew Stafford. Caldwell can pass down lessons that he taught to Manning and Stafford to Trevor Lawrence if he was hired by the Jaguars. Coming out of college many agreed that Lawrence’s ceiling as a pro was Peyton Manning and his floor was Matthew Stafford. Who else would be better to coach Lawrence put to that point than Caldwell.

The Jacksonville Jaguars should also be interested in the fact that Caldwell was able to take a franchise in the Detroit Lions that does not have a long track record of winning and bring them to the playoffs twice in three seasons with the team. For a franchise in the Jacksonville Jaguars who also doesn’t have a long track record in winning playoffs should be a reasonable goal in a season or two. Jim Caldwell has shown over his career he could take a team like Jacksonville and make them relevant again and possibly a playoff contender.

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