Coach Pierce decided to fill the linebackers coach position with a coach he likely sees much of himself in. Like Pierce, Caldwell played in the National Football League for many years, in over 150 games, including 49 starts. During that time, Caldwell registered over 500 tackles.
The Raiders improved in the turnover category this season after finishing near the bottom of the league in forced turnovers in 2022. Caldwell’s proven ability to help a defense create turnovers will be a skill Coach Pierce and Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham could use moving forward.
According to Garafolo, Caldwell, the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens were a few of the teams Caldwell interviewed for before agreeing to take the linebackers coach position and the run game coordinator position in Las Vegas.
Caldwell has been coaching since 2008, when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles as their defensive quality control coach. Three seasons later, he would become their linebackers coach.
He would then take the same position with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 for two seasons. He’d then join the Jets as their assistant head coach and linebackers coach for four seasons before joining the Buccaneers as their inside linebackers coach.
He’d win a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay before joining Doug Peterson’s staff in Jacksonville. He spent the last two seasons in Jacksonville but was let go after the season. Caldwell’s defenses in Jacksonville ranked near the top of the league in forced turnovers in both seasons as their defensive coordinator.
Leave a Reply