Carolina Panthers senior assistant Jim Caldwell, who is among the few Black coaches to be a head coach in the NFL over the last two decades, said on Tuesday that he does not plan to pursue any head-coaching opportunities in the league in the future.
“Right now, the only job that I’m concerned about is the job I do here, right here and now,” Caldwell said on Tuesday. “I’m not worried about the future or anything else. I don’t plan on being a head coach from this point forward.”
The 68-year-old Caldwell had a three-year stint as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts followed by a four-year run with the Detroit Lions. He led the Colts to Super Bowl XLIV and finished his head coaching stint with a respectable 62-50 record. However, he wasn’t able to land another head coaching gig afterward and didn’t interview for any open positions this off-season.
While Caldwell is realistic about where the NFL has failed in recent years when it comes to diversity at the top coaching level, he does see progress being made.
“When you look at the numbers, they speak for themselves,” he said of the NFL’s track record for hiring Black head coaches. “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.”
Caldwell also said he will continue to be involved in the Quarterback Coaching Summit, which tries to get more offensive-minded Black coaches in the college ranks ready for the NFL because that seems “to be the avenue to reaching a head-coaching position.”
Caldwell will remain on new Carolina coach Frank Reich’s staff, which also includes a Black offensive coordinator (Thomas Brown) and defensive coordinator (Ejiro Evero).
[ESPN]
