Jim Caldwell (American football)

James "Jim" Caldwell (born January 16, 1955) is an American football coach, currently the Quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens. He was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011 and he also served as the head coach of Wake Forest from 1993 to 2000.

Collegiate career
Caldwell was a four-year starter at defensive back for the University of Iowa in the late 1970s. Caldwell is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

College
Caldwell served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Southern Illinois University, Northwestern, Colorado, Louisville, and Penn State before being named head coach at Wake Forest in 1993. He was the first African-American coach in the ACC.

In eight years, Caldwell had a record of 26–63. He installed a powerful passing attack that set numerous school records (many of which have since been broken under his successor, Jim Grobe). However, his teams rarely ran well; in one year the Demon Deacons' leading rusher only notched 300 yards for the entire season. He only had one winning season, in 1999 when the Deacons won the Aloha Bowl.

Indianapolis Colts
Caldwell joined Tony Dungy's staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001 as quarterbacks coach. He followed Dungy to Indianapolis in 2002 and remained with him for his entire tenure, helping lead the Colts to a win in Super Bowl XLI.

On January 13, 2008, Caldwell was formally announced as Dungy's successor-in-waiting. On January 12, 2009, Dungy announced his retirement, putting Caldwell in the head coaching position. He was formally introduced at a press conference the following day.

Caldwell had one of the best debut seasons for a head coach in NFL history, finishing with a 14–2 record. The Colts rushed out to a 14–0 start. With the AFC South title and the top seed in the AFC playoffs secured, Caldwell opted (on orders from then GM, Bill Polian) to sit out his starting players the last two games of the season (both losses), drawing controversy to him and the team. He later won his first playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens on January 16, 2010. On January 24, 2010, Caldwell became the 5th rookie head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl with a 30–17 victory over the New York Jets. Caldwell holds the NFL record for the best start by a rookie head coach, starting his career with 14 wins. The 14 wins also tied a franchise record.

On February 7, 2010, Caldwell's rookie season ended with a 31–17 loss in Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. In his second season the Colts reached the playoffs where they lost in disappointing fashion to the New York Jets 17–16 on January 8, 2011.

Following a 2–14 record in 2011, Caldwell was fired on January 17, 2012.

Baltimore Ravens
Thirteen days after his dismissal from the Colts, Caldwell was named quarterbacks coach by the Baltimore Ravens on January 30, 2012.

Coaching tree
NFL head coaches under whom Jim Caldwell has served: Assistant coaches under Jim Caldwell who have become NFL head coaches:
 * Tony Dungy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001), Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008)
 * John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens (2012-Present)
 * None

Family
Caldwell and his wife, Cheryl, have four children: Jimmy, Jermaine, Jared and Natalie. On January 7, 2012 the Caldwell family announced they are anticipating a 5th child, Deloris in July.