Jaguars to hire Buccaneers ILBs coach Mike Caldwell as DC

The name first associated with new head coach Doug Pederson has landed the role of defensive coordinator on his first Jaguars staff. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the team is close to hiring Mike Caldwell as their new defensive coordinator (Twitter link).

Caldwell was named as a top candidate for the DC role soon after Pederson’s hiring. The 50-year old spent five years with the Eagles working with their linebacking corps. He was gone by the time Pederson became Philadelphia’s HC, though, so the only connection between the two is the overlap in their playing careers there in 1999.

Caldwell also has experience as the LBs coach with the Cardinals, Jets and Buccaneers. His three years in Tampa Bay saw him oversee one of, if not the best, tandems in the league at that position in Devin White and Lavonte David. That success, including a Super Bowl championship last season, earned him an interview with the Ravens for their DC vacancy.

Now, Caldwell will take on a coordinator role for the first time in his career. It’s the first to be filled under Pederson, as the team is still in search of a new OC, and it was recently announced that former special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen will not be returning.