Tag: Mike Caldwell

Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell discusses leadership that LB Foyesade Oluokun brings to defense

Jacksonville and defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell hope new linebacker Foyesade Oluokun is a tackling machine like he was in Atlanta.

One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ best free-agent signings this offseason was when they signed former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun. He was a tackling machine the last two seasons, including 2021 where he posted a league-high of 192 combined tackles. Besides his massive tackling numbers, Oluokun recorded four tackles for loss, two sacks, and four quarterback hits last season.

Jacksonville defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell went on “Jaguars Happy Hour” to preview the team’s 2022 defense and raved about his excitement to coach Oluokun.

Caldwell has a good eye when looking for linebackers to add to his team’s roster because he played 10 seasons in the NFL from 1993 to 2003.

“That’s the thing, being a former linebacker, you look for guys who have certain traits,” Caldwell said. “And he has the traits of, he’s gonna be a leader out there. Not because he’s standing in front of the huddle, but because he’s out there and he’s working hard and he’s leading guys and he’s doing it by example.”

He also complimented his ability to play downhill and his intelligence. Oluokun was drafted in 2018 out of Yale. Caldwell is looking forward to working with Oluokun and giving him as much as he can handle.

Oluokun has the tough task of replacing Myles Jack, who was released as a cap casualty not too soon after the Jags agreed to terms with Oluokun. Jack had been with the Jags since 2016 and started in 82 games for them.

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Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell happy to reunite with DL Folorunso Fatukasi

Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell is happy to reunite with DL Folorunso Fatukasi after drafting him in the sixth rounds while he was with the Jets.

New Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell saw defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi’s potential when he drafted him in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft while he was with the New York Jets.

Now, after years of development, Caldwell feels like he’s getting a player who is tapping into the potential he saw in 2018. The Jaguars signed Fatukasi last month in free agency for that reason, and hope he can bolster their defense in the trenches.

Caldwell recently sat down with analysts Jeff Lageman and senior reporter J.P. Shadrick for Jaguars Happy Hour to talk about the team’s defense in 2022 and some of the team’s free-agent additions like Fatukasi.

“Yeah, I was on the coaching staff that drafted him, and the thing about it was he was raw when he came out,” Caldwell said. “Now you can see the talent start to bubble and come out. He’s explosive, he has really strong hands, and he’s a force in the middle.

“That’s someone that you’re looking forward to help stop the run, plug up the middle and be a physical presence in the middle for offenses to have to handle.”

Fatukasi accumulated 88 total tackles, five for a loss, two sacks, and 11 quarterback hits over the last two seasons.

Caldwell was pleasantly surprised when he saw his film this offseason.

“When I actually saw it was when I turned on the film this offseason,” he said. “Then looking at a free agent, I was like, ‘That’s the same kid? Yeah, he’s different now.'”

Fatukasi has come a long way since being drafted in the late rounds of the 2018 draft. With 23 starts in his last two seasons, it’s easy to see exactly why he has improved as he’s seen 1,065 snaps in the process.

Fatukasi will join a Jags defense that struggled against the run and ranked 23rd this offseason. For that reason, many feel he’s set to start and see the highest snap count of his career. If he can make strides as a pass-rusher that would be the cherry on top of his signing as the Jags’ 16th ranked passing defense is looking to jump into the top half of the league, too.

LB Foyesade Oluokun excited to do his part in helping Jags vs. AFC South’s strong rushing attack

The Jags are in a division with two of the league’s most gifted rushers and Foyesade Oluokun is excited to help the defense be more successful against them.

When the tampering period started, many fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars felt the team would mostly focus on the offensive side, but they took a pretty balanced approach. In the process, they were able to land the league’s leader in tackles, Foyesade Oluokun, as their second big addition, and it was clear from the jump that they had big plans for him.

On Thursday, the former Atlanta Falcon revealed what he thought would be his most important role within the defense, which will be to stop the run in an AFC South division that has rushers like Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor.

“I talked to [Defensive Coordinator] Mike [Caldwell], I said ‘What do you want to hang your hat on as a defense?’ Because obviously we have to be on the same page, him and I, with what he wants and me to portray that to the rest of the unit,” Oluokun said to the media. “He said he wants to stop the run. Obviously, we have a league or a conference where they run the ball well and it’s just more opportunity for me. I know how I feel, it’s definitely fun to go up against that kind of competition and that kind of talent. I tell myself a lot of times before I play a back that I feel like is good, if I go up against him, then I’ll be recognized, like I’ll get that respect and it’s just fun to play against those kinds of guys.”

Oluokun will be coming from an NFC South division that doesn’t have the rushers that the AFC South does, but certainly has some dynamic players at the running back position. During his time there, Oluokun went up against players like former Jag Leonard Fournette and Alvin Kamara, both of whom have immense talent and have been very successful.

Mike Caldwell will also be coming from the NFC South, and while he was a defensive assistant, he likely got a first-hand look at Oluokun before he became the coordinator for the Jags. Now, the two, who played on rival teams the past few years, will look to combine forces and Oluokun is hoping to gain Caldwell’s respect in the process.

“I think it’s definitely very exciting,” Oluokun said. “I had a long talk with him earlier today and just minds bouncing off each other, just seeing how he sees the game and it’s similar. It’s just really exciting to really feel like I’m a part of what he has in store. He has a lot of trust in me already, so I hope to keep earning his respect, and do what I need to do out there.”

When it comes to this free agency class, Oluokun will have many fans watching him because he’s going to be a new face in the middle of the defense with fan-favorite Myles Jack gone. It’s clear he’s excited for the challenge, though, and with Caldwell’s coaching, Oluokun may be able to make an impact in no time.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson discusses DC Mike Caldwell

Pederson has high hopes for Caldwell, who he worked with under Andy Reid in Philadelphia.

New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, who has a background in coaching offenses and the quarterback position, wasted no time hiring the architect of his defense.

The team brought in Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell to take over the role. Pederson and Caldwell have quite a bit of familiarity, as the two worked on Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles staff. Since then, Caldwell has acted as a protege of sorts for Todd Bowles, the former Jets head coach and current Bucs defensive coordinator.

Pederson discussed what Caldwell brings to the table and his vision for the defense.

“You know, Mike and I, we go way back too,” Pederson said. “We were former players together in this league. We kind of cut our teeth together on the Eagles staff, him working under Jim Johnson, playing for Jim Johnson and then of course Coach Reid, and then our paths kind of separated.

“He’s kind of been with Todd Bowles, and we know Todd was a head coach, tremendous coordinator in this league, the things that Mike has always kind of been in the linebacker room, and the structure of defense that we play and the majority of the guys in the NFL play, it fits what we do.”

Pederson elaborated on the philosophy that Caldwell and Bowles shared in Tampa.

“It’s an aggressive mindset, and those are the conversations that Mike and I have had is we want to maintain the aggressiveness, we want to be able to put our players in position to make plays,” he said. “Moving a Josh Allen around, moving a Chaisson, moving these guys around, moving safeties around, other backers. Really presenting a picture to the offense where maybe you don’t know where the blitz is coming from. You kind of watch what Tampa Bay did this year and the success they had on defense.

“But again, it takes players, too, and we understand that. But I’m excited, again, for him to really come in here and having Bob Sutton there to really, I think, even to help Mike, I think that’s a big step for him to use.”

The defense was a bit of a pleasant surprise in 2021. Though it was far from elite, it improved throughout the season under previous coordinator Joe Cullen.

Caldwell will hope to maintain that success through the staff turnover, though several holes on that side of the ball that need to be plugged still remain.

Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell says defense will focus on what team already does well

Mike Caldwell is in the process of evaluating the Jags’ defense and says he will look to capitalize on what they do well this upcoming season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally wrapped up their search for coaching staff members on Doug Pederson’s team this past week, and the group is one with a good mix of player experience. Among those who have played in the NFL is the Jags’ new defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, who has a lot of history with Pederson due to playing alongside him and coaching with him as both were assistants under Andy Reid.

On Friday, Caldwell was introduced to the Jacksonville media for the first time and spoke on being an assistant for Philadelphia with Pederson and how it helped him realize how sharp of a coach he was.

“Well, you know, anytime you’re dealing with a quarterback they’re going to make an impression on you,” Caldwell said. “So he was the guy and we were going through that transition period, and he did a great job, and you can see the knowledge as a player, and it just transitioned to him being a coach.”

Caldwell and Pederson almost started coaching at the same time in the NFL, with Caldwell getting his start in Philadelphia as a defensive quality control coach in 2008. Then Pederson came along a year later for the same role on offense. Both eventually received multiple promotions by the time the Reid era was up, allowing Caldwell and Pederson to have an appreciation for each other after witnessing the other work hard to succeed.

Caldwell, of course, was asked about the direction of the Jags’ defense in terms of a scheme, and the first-year coordinator said it would be a work in progress. However, he also added that he would be evaluating what the team does best from now on through training camp, which will define how the defense operates heading forward.

“Really that question in Jacksonville, what the Jaguar players do well, we’ll let them do that,” Caldwell said. “It’s really not going to be we’re going to be this type of defense. That one, I’m going to look at the personnel, understand what they do well, let them go out there and do it well, and that’s where success comes from.”

When looking at what the Jags did last season under former defensive coordinator Joe Cullen, they were a team that blitzed a lot. Many don’t expect that to change too much when looking at Caldwell’s background as he’s been a part of some aggressive coaching groups, with the most recent being Todd Bowles.

This was something Caldwell eluded to later in the press conference when asked about the Jags’ struggles with turnovers.

“That’s the thing, turnovers, it’s such an important part of the game. Every defense is going to work it,” said Caldwell. “But you have to work it a certain way. You work it and you have to stress getting the ball out, stress the different types of coverages you’re going to play. Again, it goes back to attacking, affecting the quarterback. So when you affect the quarterback and speed his process up, that enables you to get a chance to break on a ball here and get a pick or break on a ball and knock it down or get a ball tipped up in the air and be able to get a turnover that way.

“But speeding up the quarterback is key to doing that, and then flying around, understanding what you’re supposed to do, getting there, getting there nasty, turnovers happen.”

Hearing Caldwell’s willingness to attack quarterbacks and put his players in the best position is great, but other key factors will play into the Jags’ defense getting to where it needs to be. One of them is talent acquisition, and that’s a situation controlled by the front office.

In a season where the Jags need a ton of offensive help, it’s unknown how much talent they will be able to add defensively, but getting the best pass-rusher possible needs to be on the Jags’ agenda, too. If they can do that, Caldwell would have a good foundation to work with and only time will tell if Pederson and the front office help him with that this season.

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Jags announce 2022 coaching staff under new HC Doug Pederson

The #Jaguars 2022 coaching staff has been finalized!

The Jacksonville Jaguars and new coach Doug Pederson have a busy offseason ahead of them after a rough 2021 season, but the team took a significant step in getting things set up for the 2022 season Thursday. The organization announced the finalization of their new staff for the upcoming season, which included 24 assistants.

As reported, his coordinators will be Press Taylor and Mike Caldwell on the offensive and defensive sides, respectively, while Heath Farwell will handle the special teams coordinator role. Of the three, Taylor is the lone assistant who was on Pederson’s staff when he was a head coach the first time. Meanwhile, Caldwell coached alongside him under Andy Reid in Philadelphia, and Farwell will be working with Pederson for the first time after acquiring his same role from Buffalo the past three seasons.

Offensively, there will be 10 assistants under Taylor. That includes veteran notables like Jim Bob Cooter (passing game coordinator), Mike McCoy (quarterbacks coach), and Bernie Parmalee (running backs coach), to name a few. Of the three notables, McCoy will even have an assistant under him, and it will be Andrew Breiner, who was on Pederson’s last staff in Philadelphia.

Phil Rauscher, Chris Jackson, and former Jaguar Richard Angulo will be coaching the offensive linemen, receivers, and tight ends, respectively. Assisting Rauscher on the offensive line will be Todd Washington, who is returning from Urban Meyer’s staff, while Will Harriger, another holdover from the last staff, will assist Jackson with the receivers.

Lastly, Nick Williams will be helping on the offensive end and will be the Jags’ offensive quality control coach. He also will join the Jags after previously being on Pederson’s staff in Philadelphia where he was a coaching assistant from 2018-20.

Assisting Caldwell at the key positions on defense will be Deshea Townsend, Breston Buckner, Bill Shuey, Tony Gilbert, and Cody Grimm, who will coach the cornerbacks, defensive linemen, outside linebackers, inside linebackers, and safeties, respectively. Townsend will also hold the role of being the defensive passing game coordinator.

Of the group of defensive assistants, Buckner will have an assistant on the defensive line, and that will be Rory Segrest, another former Reid assistant who has worked with Pederson and Caldwell.

The Jags will also be retaining two holdovers from Meyer’s staff to help on defense in senior defensive analyst Bob Sutton and defensive quality control coach Patrick Reilly, both of whom had the same roles in 2021.

Assisting Farwell on special teams will be Luke Thompson. He is another assistant who was on Pederson’s last staff and held the same role in 2019-20 with the Eagles.

Lastly, ElizaBeth Mayers and Tyler Wolf will be returning as the Jags’ assistant to the head coach and director of team administration, respectively. Both have been with the Jags for a while now, as Mayers joined the organization in 2013 and Wolf did so in 2009.

Report: Bucs assistant Cody Grimm to join Jags’ staff as a safeties coach

It appears Mike Caldwell won’t be coming alone from Tampa to join the Jags’ staff.

Mike Caldwell is officially set to join the Jacksonville Jaguars as their defensive coordinator, but he won’t be coming from Tampa alone. According to The Athletic’s Greg Auman, Cody Grimm, who is a defensive and special teams assistant for the Buccaneers, is set to also join the staff as a safeties coach.

Grimm joined the Bucs’ staff in 2019 just as Caldwell did, which was the year Bruce Arians took the job as head coach. It marked Grimm’s first experience as a coach and allowed him to play for the team that drafted him out of Virginia Tech in 2010 in the seventh round.

Grimm is the son of former NFL offensive line coach Russ Grimm and is the brother of former Washington Commanders outside linebackers coach Chad Grimm.

Grimm assisted with a defensive unit that was third overall against the run in 2021 (allowing a 92.5 average) and had a secondary that ranked second in Pro Football Focus’ last secondary rankings for 2021. The notables on the defensive unit Grimm worked with in the process included inside linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White, defensive tackle Vita Vea, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr., to name a few.

The last assistant to coach the Jags’ safeties group was Chris Ash, who was named to Urban Meyer’s staff last season. However, Ash signed with Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders as a secondary coach after Meyer’s staff was mostly allowed to find new jobs.

Report: Mike Caldwell officially hired to be Jags’ DC, announcement from team to come later

Field Yates and Mike Garafolo are reporting that the Jags have finalized things with Mike Caldwell.

The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to terms with Press Taylor to be their offensive coordinator on Thursday, and they’ve now locked in their defensive coordinator. As expected, that assistant will be Tampa Bay Bucs interior linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, who has officially put pen to paper to rejoin his former teammate from his days with the Philadelphia Eagles in Doug Pederson.

Earlier in the week, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was the one who reported that Caldwell was the Jags’ top option to be their defensive coordinator and that both sides were in talks to finalize it. Then on Friday, ESPN’s Field Yates reported that it was official, while Garafolo confirmed the addition.

Caldwell not only played alongside Pederson with the Eagles, but the two were also assistant coaches for the team at the same time under Andy Reid from 2009-12.

However, Caldwell initially joined the Eagles as a coach in 2008 as a defensive quality control coach. He then held that role until 2010 when he became the team’s assistant linebackers coach. After holding that title for a year, Caldwell shed the assistant part and became their linebackers coach in 2012, which was Reid’s last season with the team.

Caldwell then found himself coaching under head coach Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles in Arizona as an inside linebackers coach for two seasons (2013-14). But when Bowles became the head coach of the New York Jets in 2015, Caldwell joined him as an assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach from 2015-18. However, when Bowles was fired, both reunited with Arians in 2019 when he became the coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Caldwell will join the Jags after a 2021 season where he helped the Bucs make it to the postseason and were third overall against the rush (allowing a 92.5 average) and first in pressures (219). It appears he could run a similar scheme to what the Jags ran last season where they were a blitz-heavy unit from the 3-4 alignment predominantly.

The Jags still have some assistant roles to fill on their staff, but Pederson has made a great deal of progress this week. At the rate he’s moving, the staffing process should be done soon, and once that happens, fans can expect an official announcement on the hires from the team.

Poll: Do you like the Jags’ upcoming decision to hire Mike Caldwell as DC

The Jaguars are reportedly hiring Caldwell, who was previously the inside linebackers coach in Tampa Bay, to replace Joe Cullen.

According to multiple reports, the Jaguars are closing in on a defensive coordinator hire to join new coach Doug Pederson’s staff. As was first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the team is looking to bring on Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell to join the staff.

The 50-year-old has been around the block a few times. After an 11-year playing career in the league, he became an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008, beginning a 14-year career as an assistant.

He worked with Pederson when they were both assistants in Philly, and he has since become Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ right-hand man, taking on an assistant head coach role under Bowles with the New York Jets and following him to Tampa. This will be his first stint as a defensive play-caller, making him the second-straight Jacksonville defensive coordinator hire without DC experience.

Still, there’s a lot to like about this move. He was one of several coaches to interview for the vacant defensive coordinator position in Baltimore earlier this offseason, and he runs a similar scheme to the one previous defensive coordinator Joe Cullen utilized.

The defense improved quite a bit down the stretch in 2021, and keeping the philosophy largely the same during the transition could pay dividends next season.

Caldwell is a guy with a sterling reputation around the league, and though this is a big leap for him, it’s one that many feel he’s ready for. But we want to hear from you. Do you like this pending hire for the Jags? Or should Pederson — an offensive-minded coach with a background in tutoring quarterbacks — have opted for a more experienced defensive coach? Let us know in the poll below.

[polldaddy poll=11040555]

WATCH: Bruce Arians and Devin White discuss new Jags DC Mike Caldwell

The Jaguars’ new defensive coordinator may lack experience as a defensive play-caller, but those who work with him have had nothing but positive things to say in the past.

While we await an official announcement from the team, it’s being widely reported that the Jaguars are closing in on an agreement to make Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line coach Mike Caldwell the new defensive coordinator under recently hired coach Doug Pederson.

Caldwell has a 14-year career as an NFL assistant coach, working with Pederson when both were assistants in Philadelphia before stops with the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, and Bucs. He was a part of a Super Bowl-winning team last season with head coach Bruce Arians, who he also worked with in Arizona.

Ahead of that game, Arians — who has built a reputation for lobbying on behalf of his assistants — had positive things to say about Caldwell’s impact.

“Mike’s done a great job… he’s a hell of a coach,” Arians said. “He should be a coordinator… But Mike has done a fantastic job, he’s really good with his players. They’re super prepared.”

But if you don’t take Arians’ word for it, maybe you’ll listen to one of the players he coached directly. Linebacker Devin White, whose rookie season was also Caldwell’s first in Tampa, has since become a one-time Pro Bowler and Second-Team All-Pro. He echoed the sentiment from Arians.

“Coach Caldwell, out of all the coaches I’ve ever played for, he’s been the most meaningful and most impactful coach that I ever had,” White said. “It all starts with him being a student of the game because coach Caldwell played 11 years in the league, and he’s been in every situation… This is my first time ever having a coach to coach me that has also played the game. I’ve never had that type of coach/player interaction before, and I’m so thankful for it.

“I swear, we get better every day when we walk up on the practice field.”

White added that Caldwell is willing to work with anyone who takes the initiative to improve, as he did when White wanted to work on zone-dropping.

“He don’t mind putting in the time with you,” White said. “Because if you want to be great, he’s going to help push you there. You’ve got some people, when it’s time to get out of the building they’re ready to get out of the building. But coach Caldwell, he’s willing to go above and beyond to help me be the greatest… I really appreciate him and I’m really thankful that he’s my coach.”

It’s hard not to be excited about the prospect of Caldwell leading this defense after listening to the high praise he received from his employer and top player. He may lack the experience as a defensive coordinator, but there’s a lot to like about this move for Jacksonville.