Skip to main content
Carolina Panthers
Advertising

Five things to know about Jim Caldwell

Jim Caldwell, Peyton Manning

CHARLOTTE – The Panthers added another member to their staff Tuesday, agreeing to terms with Jim Caldwell as a senior assistant.

Caldwell, 68, has 18 years of NFL coaching experience and seven as a head coach with the Colts and Lions. He had interviewed for the Panthers' head coaching position before the role went to Reich.

Here are five fast facts to know about him:

1. Super Bowl rings: Caldwell has been a staff member for two Super Bowl wins, first in 2006 with Indianapolis as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach under head coach Tony Dungy and again as offensive coordinator with the Ravens and John Harbaugh in 2012.

With the Colts, Caldwell worked with Peyton Manning at quarterback. He coached Joe Flacco in Baltimore's Super Bowl season.

2. Reich connection: Caldwell first connected with Reich in 2006, when Reich started his coaching career as an intern under Dungy in Indianapolis.

At the time, Caldwell was working as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. When Caldwell succeeded Dungy following his retirement in 2009, Reich moved in to coach quarterbacks under first-time NFL coach Caldwell. The two coached together through 2011.

3. Leading Indianapolis: Caldwell found early success at the helm of the Colts, making a run to the Super Bowl behind a 14-2 regular season record in his first year as head coach.

Indianapolis earned the top seed in the AFC but lost to the Saints in the Super Bowl. The Colts made another playoff run in Caldwell's second season, winning the AFC South with a 10-6 record, but they lost to the Jets in the Wild Card round.

Indianapolis went 2-14 in his last year there after Manning missed the season while undergoing neck surgeries.

Jim Caldwell

4. Coaching the Lions: Caldwell returned to being a head coach after winning a Super Bowl as the Ravens' offensive coordinator, taking over the job at Detroit from 2014-17.

He led the Lions to two playoff appearances and three winning seasons, with his tenure ending in a 36-28 (.563 record). They had made the playoffs once in the 14 years prior to his arrival.

Caldwell's winning percentage was the best for a head coach in Detroit since Buddy Parker in the 1950s. In the five years since he was fired, the Lions have posted a 26-54-2 record.

5. College history: Before his NFL coaching career began as a quarterbacks coach at Tampa Bay in 2001, Caldwell had a long career as a college football coach. He took various assistant coaching jobs at six different schools, including Colorado, Louisville, and Penn State, before becoming head coach for Wake Forest from 1993-2000.

Though he didn't have the same kind of success at Wake (26-63), he has established himself as an NFL coach.

Jim Caldwell has 18 years of NFL coaching experience, including head coach positions with the Lions (2014-17) and Colts (2009-11).

Related Content

Advertising