Jim Caldwell (American football)

Jim Caldwell

Caldwell in 2010
Detroit Lions
Personal information
Born:	(1955-01-16) January 16, 1955 Beloit, Wisconsin
Career information
College:	Iowa
Head coaching record
Postseason:	2–2 (.500)

James "Jim" Caldwell (born January 16, 1955) is an American football coach who is head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Caldwell served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University from 1993 to 2000 and as the head coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011.

Collegiate career

Caldwell was a four-year starter at defensive back at the University of Iowa in the late 1970s.

Coaching career

College

Caldwell served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Southern Illinois University, Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Louisville, and Pennsylvania State University before being named head coach at Wake Forest University in 1993. He was the first African-American head football coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

In eight years, Caldwell had a record of 26–63. He installed a powerful passing attack that set numerous school records, many of which have since been broken under his successor, Jim Grobe. However, his teams rarely ran well; in one year the Demon Deacons' leading rusher only notched 300 yards for the entire season. He only had one winning season, in 1999, when the Deacons won the Aloha Bowl.

Indianapolis Colts

Caldwell joined Tony Dungy's staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001 as quarterbacks coach. He followed Dungy to Indianapolis in 2002 and remained with him for his entire tenure, helping lead the Colts to a win in Super Bowl XLI.

On January 13, 2008, Caldwell was formally announced as Dungy's successor-in-waiting. On January 12, 2009, Dungy announced his retirement, putting Caldwell in the head coaching position. He was formally introduced at a press conference the following day.

Caldwell had one of the best debut seasons for a head coach in NFL history, finishing with a 14–2 record. The Colts rushed out to a 14–0 start. With the AFC South title and the top seed in the AFC playoffs secured, Caldwell opted (on orders from then GM, Bill Polian) to sit out his starting players the last two games of the season (both losses), drawing controversy to him and the team. He later won his first playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens on January 16, 2010. On January 24, 2010, Caldwell became the 5th rookie head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl with a 30–17 victory over the New York Jets. Caldwell holds the NFL record for the best start by a rookie head coach, starting his career with 14 wins. The 14 wins also tied a franchise record.

On February 7, 2010, Caldwell's rookie season ended with a 31–17 loss in Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. In his second season the Colts reached the playoffs where they lost to the New York Jets 17–16 on January 8, 2011.

Going into the 2011 NFL season, it was announced that Caldwell's star quarterback, Peyton Manning, would likely miss the entire season. This contributed to the Colts going 2-14 and Caldwell's subsequent firing after the season.

Baltimore Ravens

Thirteen days after his dismissal from the Colts, Caldwell was named quarterbacks coach by the Baltimore Ravens on January 30, 2012. On December 10, 2012 the Ravens dismissed Cam Cameron and named Caldwell the offensive coordinator. On the day following the defeat of the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, head coach John Harbaugh announced on January 22, 2013 that Caldwell would be the team's permanent offensive coordinator going into the 2013 season. On February 3rd, 2013, Jim Caldwell helped lead the Baltimore offense to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the New Orleans Superdome.

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Jim Caldwell has served:

• Tony Dungy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001), Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008)
• John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens (2012–Present)

Family

Caldwell and his wife, Cheryl, have four children: Jimmy, Jermaine, Jared and Natalie. On Mother's Day May 12, 2013 Jim and his wife Cheryl announced that they are expecting the birth of their son JaJuan in early September.

Head coaching record

College

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1993–2000)
1993	Wake Forest	2–9	1–7	9th
1994	Wake Forest	3–8	1–7	8th
1995	Wake Forest	1–10	0–8	9th
1996	Wake Forest	3–8	1–7	8th
1997	Wake Forest	5–6	3–5	7th
1998	Wake Forest	3–8	2–6	7th
1999	Wake Forest	7–5	3–5	5th	W Aloha
2000	Wake Forest	2–9	1–7	8th
Wake Forest:		26–63	12–52
Total:		26–63
†Indicates Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, or CFP / New Years' Six bowl.

NFL

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
IND	2009	14	2	0	.875	1st in AFC South	2	1	.667	Lost to New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV
IND	2010	10	6	0	.625	1st in AFC South	0	1	.000	Lost to New York Jets in AFC Wild-Card Game
IND	2011	2	14	0	.125	4th in AFC South	—	—	—	—
IND Total		26	22	0	.542		2	2	.500
DET	2014	0	16
DET Total		0	16
Total		26	22	0	.542		2	2	.500

External links

• Baltimore Ravens profile
• ESPN profile
• Template:CFBCR