Jim Caldwell's pursuit to return as an NFL head coach has come to an end. The veteran coach, who has been one of the key faces and figures in the NFL's efforts to hire Black head coaches over the past few years, told reporters Tuesday that he does not plan to seek another head coaching job during his time in the league.
"Right now, the only job that I'm concerned about is the job I do here, right here and now,'' said Caldwell, who has been hired as a senior assistant for the Carolina Panthers, via ESPN. "I'm not worried about the future or anything else. I don't plan on being a head coach from this point forward.''
Caldwell, 69, first became a head coach in the NFL in 2009 when he was tabbed as Tony Dungy's successor in Indianapolis with the Colts. He held that job through the 2011 season and was later hired as head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2014. Caldwell was the first African American head coach in that franchise's history and was with the organization through the 2017 campaign after which he was fired after a 9-7 season. Since then, Caldwell has interviewed for a handful of open head coaching jobs over the years, which include the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos positions this offseason. After not getting either of those gigs, he opted to join Frank Reich's staff where he'll directly report to him on all phases of the team.
"When I didn't get a head coaching job, I immediately sort of changed the plan in terms of what I was looking for next," Caldwell said. "I knew I was at the stage where I wanted to be back in the building somewhere. And so, I did have some opportunities to kind of look at, and I was happy when Frank called."
This offseason, there were five head coach openings across the NFL and only one was filled by a minority coach -- DeMeco Ryan in Houston.
"When you look at the numbers, they speak for themselves," Caldwell said. "There's been volumes and volumes of articles written and reporting on television about the lack of diversity in terms of the head coaching position. But there's been a lot of things in the background to try to improve that."
While Caldwell will no longer search for a head coaching job for himself, he does plan to continue being a part of the Quarterback Coaching Summit, which is aimed at getting more offensive-minded Black coaches in the college ranks and setting up a possible pipeline to the NFL. Caldwell noted that this appears "to be the avenue to reaching a head coaching position."
