Jim Caldwell: I didn’t turn down interviews with Raiders, Vikings

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Former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell issued a statement on Saturday morning responding to a report about his interest in a pair of head coaching interviews.

Dan Graziano of ESPN reported this week that Caldwell declined the chance to interviews with the Raiders and Vikings about their vacancies. Caldwell said that report is incorrect.

“I would like to correct an erroneous report that I turned down opportunities to interview for the head coaching job with Minnesota and Las Vegas,” Caldwell said. “Those reports are not true. I have profound respect for both organizations and for the Wilf and Davis families and I did not decline any opportunity to interview with them.”

Caldwell didn’t say if he would be meeting with either of the teams. He has interviewed with the Bears and Jaguars this month and neither team has hired a new head coach, so Caldwell could be in line for a return to the NFL.

28 responses to “Jim Caldwell: I didn’t turn down interviews with Raiders, Vikings

  1. There was never an issue. He simply said this to generate attention in his own direction. Smart.

  2. Jim Caldwell doesn’t exactly excite in the personality department(I’ve seen more personality in a tightly coiled dog turd),but he’s solid and would bring a desperately needed stability to a Jacksonville or Chicago.

  3. Exactly. I also have not turned down interviews for HC or GM for the Raiders or Vikings, FYFI.

  4. Caldwell might not be the most exciting coach but this guy managed to be successful in Detroit where he had three winning seasons out of four. He also has been a very good mentor for QB most notably Peyton Manning. He had just 2 losing seasons in his 7 years as a HC, went to the SB with Indy but lost to Brees and the Saints.Underrated and very well respected coach.

  5. Even in public statements he is kind and professional. Jim Caldwell is a class act!

    Yesterday I watched a Youtube video on why Calvin Johnson retired from the Lions, in which Jim Caldwell said a few words. The video showed me that Caldwell is respected and can form deep connections with his players. I look forward to seeing him hired again as a head coach.

  6. So what the heck does that mean. Neither of those teams disputed they offered and he said no so who is lying here. I would pass on this guy just because of this.
    I think Morris will be the Vikes new coach anyways. Has a lot of offensive and defensice coaching skills and thus more balanced then Zimmer who was a defensive guru only.

  7. Jim Caldwell doesn’t exactly excite in the personality department(I’ve seen more personality in a tightly coiled dog turd),but he’s solid and would bring a desperately needed stability to a Jacksonville or Chicago.
    —————
    Exactly what was said when the Bears hired John Fox after the Marc Trestman debacle and we all saw how that turned out. This Bears fan says “no thanks.”

  8. bearsman says:
    January 22, 2022 at 10:59 am
    Even in public statements he is kind and professional. Jim Caldwell is a class act!

    Yesterday I watched a Youtube video on why Calvin Johnson retired from the Lions, in which Jim Caldwell said a few words. The video showed me that Caldwell is respected and can form deep connections with his players. I look forward to seeing him hired again as a head coach
    —————————————————————————————-
    The players may have loved him but the fans sure didn’t . He’s a terrible in game coach and his teams lose focus at key moments just like he does . This is a guy who had a must win game to stay in the playoff hunt who punted on a 4th and short from midfield while trailing in the 4th quarter . He seems to be more concerned about players liking him then winning games .

  9. Hmmm, he is at an age where you become very forgetful? I think he forgot what he told the reporters, it’s either that, or the previous job he thought he was going to get fell through.

  10. Why is it that “reporters” can get away with false statements all of the time jiat to be first? From sports to politics, it seems like its an everyday occurance. They should have to reveal their sources. Many sources would probably turn out to be Jim Bob from twitter, who heard it from his 3rd ex wife’s brothers cousin.

    Do your job better. Reporters are as trusted today as used car salesmen

  11. Caldwell is a terrible coach he’s being used as a token you know what there are far better black coaches available is Tim Lewis still out there he’s all class a wonderful man .

  12. Big shocker that ESPN got this wrong. Always trying to be the first and always wrong just like Scheffter.

  13. Caldwell is a great man and leader, intelligent and steady. Would be the perfect guy to oversee the rebuild in Jacksonville now that the circus has left town. Detroit should have never let him go when they did.

  14. Caldwell is a very good coach, he got my Lions to the playoffs and had winning seasons. Read that first sentence again please. He got the Lions to be competitive. I still firmly believe he should receive Nobel Prize votes for the accomplishment. And yet we did what we did for quite awhile we did the wrong thing and a new GM fired him for gulp, Patricia. The fact Caldwell didn’t get another shot at a better job after getting our jalopy to drive straight still baffles me. Those that are pointing out the very subdued personality,that works very well in crisis and was sorely missed after he left. There are others I would hire first, but looking at some of the HCs recently. Judge, Patricia, yes McCarthy, Meyer, Culley, and I’m missing handfuls all would’ve been better served by him as HC. Don’t care if he’s boring, don’t care if he doesn’t bump season ticket renewals like Meyer or chucky did. Man is stable as a table and should be an HC in the NFL. IMO.

  15. People forget that his first year with the Ravens as QB coach and offensive co-ordinator, they won the Super Bowl. One of his two losing seasons was when Indy cut Peyton Manning late in the offseason when Irsay had put all his chips on “He’ll be back.”

    He’d be perfect for Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence.

  16. The Lions, under Caldwell, were a very competitive football team with playoff appearances and did well in the division.

    They were stupid to dump him for Patricia.

  17. He interviewed with both and just before they offered him and the job. As they handed him a pen to sign the contract he called time out to give them a chance to change their mind.

  18. stellarperformance says:
    January 22, 2022 at 9:23 am

    There was never an issue. He simply said this to generate attention in his own direction. Smart.
    ————————————————————————————

    ^^^ This makes the most sense. Had interviews with Jags and Bears, came away feeling not so great about either, no other interest out there, have agent get your name back out there, respond to “report” basically letting said teams know you would be interested. And I agree there nothing wrong with that. This is just part of the dance that candidates have to do at times.

  19. Jim might be a good person, but he’s not a good coach. His college winning percentage isn’t even 30% and his NFL wining percentage is barely better than Jeff Fisher’s.

  20. Good all around then. Mark Davis should reach out to him. If I were the Raiders my HC bucket list is between Harbaugh and Caldwell. Both bring a winning culture and background to your team. I would prefer Harbaugh in that situation due to age and longevity however if you can’t land him you sign Caldwell and put a bright young assistant under him that he can mentor for the next 4 or 5 years as he builds a winning culture in your organization.

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