Tag: jim caldwell

Why the Texans interviewing Jim Caldwell for coach makes sense

The Houston Texans announced they interviewed Jim Caldwell for their coaching vacancy. The interview makes perfect sense for the AFC South club.

The Houston Texans announced Monday afternoon they have interviewed former Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell for the coaching job to replace Bill O’Brien, who was fired on Oct. 5.

The interview makes sense for the Texans.

Though Caldwell spent three seasons with the Colts as their coach from 2009-11, and his last season ending ignominiously with a 2-14 finish, his work with the Lions was especially impressive. Consider that prior to his arrival in 2014, Detroit had one playoff appearance since 2000, albeit that appearance was in recent memory in 2011. Nonetheless, Caldwell was able to get the Lions back on track after the Jim Schwartz era and get Detroit back into the playoffs.

The Lions’ two playoff appearances over a three year span (2014-16) is their highest frequency of postseason qualification since Barry Sanders, when they were able to go to the playoffs five times from 1989-98. Caldwell’s 7-9 mark in 2015 was the only losing season he had with the Lions. Since the Lions fired Caldwell after a 9-7 record in 2017, the Lions have sustained double-digit losing seasons under coach Matt Patricia.

Caldwell was Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach from 2002-08 prior to his taking over as coach. Caldwell was also the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterbacks coach and interim offensive coordinator in 2012 when they won the Super Bowl, which was also the season that helped Joe Flacco earn his contract extension as he had an 11-0 touchdown to interception ratio all throughout the victorious postseason.

The 65-year-old has worked with proven quarterbacks before in Manning, Flacco, and Matthew Stafford and cultivated results. He has also helped teams achieve what they weren’t able to before, though the lone exception would ironically be the Colts, who lost 31-17 to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. However, Caldwell’s track record as a coach demonstrates improvement.

Giving Caldwell an interview is part of the process, but it shouldn’t stop with Caldwell. Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair has to make the right hire when it comes to installing a coach that is going to work with a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Deshaun Watson.

Eagles CB Darius Slay reacts to the Lions firing GM Bob Quinn and HC Matt Patricia

Eagles CB Darius Slay reacts to the Lions parting ways with GM Bob Quinn and HC Matt Patricia

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Darius Slay wanted out of Detroit and a big reason for the star cornerback seeking a change of scenery centered around head coach Matt Patricia’s “disrespectful” approach and inability to let his players be themselves.

After his first month with the Eagles, Slay praised the “culture” in Philadelphia, and most importantly Doug Pederson’s willingness to allow his players to be themselves.

The star cornerback got the last laugh on Saturday after the Lions parted ways with GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia.

Slay reacted accordingly and didn’t hold back his feelings.

Slay has played well in his debut with the Eagles and he’ll need to make his presence felt even more if he wants to avoid seeing his current head coach and general manager deal with similar circumstances.

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Ravens vs. Colts: 7 fun facts about this Week 9 matchup

Seven nuggets for you to impress your friends with regarding this matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in Week 9

Week 9 of the 2020 season features at least one game between two teams firmly in the AFC playoff picture. The 5-2 Baltimore Ravens take on the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, with the Ravens looking to bounce back after losing to the Steelers last week. The Colts meanwhile are coming off a comfortable victory over the Detroit Lions.

This matchup goes beyond the action on the field, both for the teams and the people of Baltimore. There are a host of connections between these two teams, some you may be aware of and others that may surprise you. Here are seven nuggets about this rivalry for you to drop into conversations leading up to the game, leaving your listeners blown away by the depth of your knowledge.

Lions had just 10 defenders on the field twice in loss to Colts

The Lions had an unwanted flashback to the Jim Caldwell era

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An old problem for the Detroit Lions reared its ugly head once again in the team’s humbling 41-21 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. One of the banes of the Jim Caldwell coaching tenure in Detroit made an unwanted appearance in the game.

The Lions defense played with just 10 men on the field. Twice.

It happened twice in the loss to the Colts, a repeat of the damning critique that was commonly held against Caldwell at the end of his coaching run with the Lions. One incident even saw Caldwell’s defense play with just nine players on the field while surrendering a key third down conversion in a close loss. It happened multiple times in Caldwell’s tenure.

Chris Burke of The Athletic captured screenshots of the incidents and posted them to his Twitter account.

It’s another embarrassing gaffe for a team and a coaching staff that cannot afford it.

 

 

Former Lions’ players are hammering Matt Patricia over post-game quote

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky hammers Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia over post-game quotes, claiming “there was a lot of work to do” with the roster.

“Certainly I think when I came to Detroit there was a lot of work to do and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

This isn’t a new argument made by Lions coach Matt Patricia, trying to explain away his failures in Detroit. But with the state of the team being what it currently is, and coming off his third loss of the season, it’s not the most appropriate thing to say in a post-game press conference.

As this quote has made its way through social media, it’s caught the attention of several former Lions.

Glover Quin, who has limited his social media since mid-way through his final year in Detroit, took the time to log on and address Patricia’s comments, saying: “Don’t start this mess. You took over a 9 win team!! What do you mean a lot of work to do!!”

Another former Lion who was with the team pre-Patricia was ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, who took to one of ESPN’s morning shows (Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin) to share his thoughts on Patricia’s comments:

Orlovsky immediately sticks up for Jim Caldwell — the Lions coach before Patricia — and after two-minutes of praise for the positive atmosphere Caldwell created for the team, Orlovsky admitted, they were a good football team — but not a great one.

That’s an important distinction. Good, but not great.

Orlovsky points out that when Patricia was hired, general manager Bob Quinn said that the Lions needed to take the next step as an organization and they believed Patricia would be able to take them there.

Then Orlovsky nails the point on why so many fans are upset and frustrated with Patricia’s 10-25-1 record:

“This team was built for growth, not regression, and they (Lions) have regressed — massively.”

Caldwell may have taken the team as far as it could go, but it’s hard to argue Patricia has helped them take the next step, and it’s even harder to argue that they have not regressed.

While many fans will be calling for Patricia’s job during the Lions bye week, there’s a real chance ownership will give him a shot to prove himself through Thanksgiving.

After the bye, the Lions next seven opponents have a combined 8-19 record. If Patricia can’t right the ship by the holiday, it’s probably all she wrote.

Matt Patricia now has a worse Lions coaching record than Rod Marinelli

Sunday’s devastating loss in historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay was noteworthy in the pantheon of negative accomplishments from the Detroit Lions

Sunday’s devastating loss in historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay was noteworthy in the pantheon of negative accomplishments from the Detroit Lions. Given the franchise’s relative lack of success during the Super Bowl era, this one is a doozy of a downer.

With the loss in Week 2, Matt Patricia’s record as the head coach of the Lions dropped to 9-24-1. Through his first 34 games, Patricia has somehow sunk below the winning rate of former Lions coach Rod Marinelli.

In 2006-2008, Marinelli went 10-24 in his first 34 contests as the Lions head man. The 34th game was the second loss in the winless 2008 season, which Marinelli finished to drop his overall record in Detroit to 10-38.

Patricia now has a worse winning percentage than the man who ineptly presided over the first 0-16 season in NFL history through the same points in their Detroit careers. The Lions have now lost 11 games in a row, the longest current streak in the NFL.

Jim Caldwell, Patricia’s predecessor, went 19-15 in his first 34 games. Jim Schwartz went 10-24 in his first 34 games as Lions coach after taking over the winless team Marinelli left behind. Schwartz’s Lions won the first two games of the 2011 season after going 8-24 in the first two, and they eventually made the playoffs with a 10-6 record. It would be a stunning turnaround for this current Lions team to taste the postseason in 2020.

Proposed playoff changes might have radically changed recent Lions history

Could Jim Caldwell have remained as the coach?

A new proposal in the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations would add one additional playoff team to each conference. Instead of the top six teams in each conference making it, a seventh team in the AFC and NFC would qualify. Only the No. 1 seed would earn a bye into the divisional round.

If the new proposal takes place, it’s a big change to the NFL postseason. And had it been in place in the recent past, it might have radically altered the course of the Detroit Lions.

Back in 2017, the Lions would have qualified for the No. 7 and final spot in the postseason. Their 9-7 record edged out the Seattle Seahawks on a tiebreaker. Being the No. 7 seed would have drawn the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round.

The Lions had already vanquished the Vikings in Minnesota that season. A postseason rematch would have given head coach Jim Caldwell’s team a shot at the elusive playoff victory, one that might have allowed Caldwell to remain as the head coach.

We can never know if Caldwell winning a playoff game after 2017 would have kept him in place as the head coach. But it’s an interesting thought as to how the new proposal could have a radical difference on the fates of so many.

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Miami Dolphins will continue without coach Jim Caldwell

The Miami Dolphins will part ways with assistant head coach Jim Caldwell in 2020.

The Jim Caldwell experience in South Florida is reportedly over before it ever really began. Caldwell was initially viewed as one of the prized hires of Brian Flores’ coaching staff back in 2019 — before Caldwell’s health issues forced him to take a leave of absence from the team this season. And now, Caldwell will reportedly step aside for good and not return to the Dolphins without ever coaching a game for the team.

That’s the latest on the situation according to numerous reports from the Dolphins’ beat — including ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe and others.

Caldwell was initially viewed as a candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator position this offseason. Once it became apparent that Caldwell was in the running, the expectation rapidly swung to Caldwell not returning to the team. Sure enough, Caldwell is looking for his next coaching opportunity — but it won’t come with the Dolphins.

Miami’s drastic shift in mentality with their offense this offseason was likely a key variable. Head coach Brian Flores dismissed offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea in the immediate aftermath of the season and pulled in numerous offensive coaches from new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s former staffs to help finalize the transition.

The change in direction serves as a bit of a curveball to Miami’s rebuilding plans — but making these changes now is better than sitting with the status quo and then deciding that the men in place to develop talent aren’t the right folks for the job. Now we’ll need to see which players (both pro and college) fit the new vision of Miami’s rebuilt offense without Caldwell in the fray.

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4 candidates who the Jags should consider for their OC vacancy

The Jacksonville Jaguars and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo decided to mutually part ways Monday morning, which means the Jags now have a new vacancy alongside the two they already had on offense. That means head coach Doug Marrone will be …

The Jacksonville Jaguars and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo decided to mutually part ways Monday morning, which means the Jags now have a new vacancy alongside the two they already had on offense. That means head coach Doug Marrone will be commencing a new search immediately for a replacement.

Here are some names that make sense for the Jags to consider:

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants Mike Shula quarterback coach Mike Shula

Like Garrett, Shula has a ton of experience as both a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. In fact, Shula has been coaching in the NFL since the late 80s and has over 30 years’ worth of coaching experience.

He’s technically still employed by the Giants despite his boss Pat Shurmur getting fired after the 2019 season, but new head coach Joe Judge may have a new quarterbacks coach in mind and likely won’t hold Shula back if he wants to move on.

As we pointed out in our list of quarterback coach candidates, Shula has also groomed young talent before in Daniel Jones and Cam Newton, which, of course, is huge for Minshew. He also has coached in Jacksonville before under Jack Del Rio and may be open to coming back to Northeastern Florida.

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Report: Dolphins’ Jim Caldwell a candidate for Eagles OC opening

The Dolphins are hoping to see coach Jim Caldwell return to the team full time but he must first avoid a promotion to Philadelphia.

The Miami Dolphins had originally hoped that former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell would serve as the voice of wisdom for first time head coach Brian Flores here in Miami. When the Dolphins agreed to name Jim Caldwell the team’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, it was viewed as a huge, huge win for Miami’s staff and the stability of the team going forward. But, unfortunately for all involved, Caldwell’s health betrayed him as the 2019 season neared at Caldwell was forced to take a leave of absence, instead serving as an advisor for the 2019 season.

Now, Caldwell’s status is still something of a question. He remains on the team’s roster of active coaches but Miami has been fairly mum on his status, also whispers seem to indicate he’s ready to dive back into coaching. It may not be with Miami, though. ESPN’s Tim McManus is reporting that Caldwell is one of two candidates being considered for the Philadelphia Eagles’ vacant offensive coordinator position.

It would be hard to count this as a loss for the Dolphins, given that unforeseen circumstances prevented Caldwell from really making his impact felt in South Florida in 2019. And with Miami reportedly committed to new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, there’s now another seasoned veteran in high ranks in Miami’s coaching staff.

The status of Caldwell in Miami is anything but standard — and what actually happens between the Dolphins and Caldwell from here is going to be fascinating to watch play out. Especially if Caldwell isn’t offered the Eagles gig.

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