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.
