The Jacksonville Jaguars fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and a few members of his staff the day after their postseason hopes were dashed by a loss to the Tennessee Titans.
According to Fox Sports’ Greg Auman, the Jaguars confirmed the dismissal of Caldwell and “several members of his defensive staff” on Monday night. The group did not say other employees were let go in addition to Caldwell. Prior to the 2022 campaign, Caldwell and head coach Doug Pederson joined the Jaguars.
After the Jaguars dropped five of their last six games to exit the postseason race, Pederson made the move as part of a defensive makeover. Jacksonville might have secured the AFC South with a victory over the Titans on Sunday, even with their late-season collapse. However, their 28-20 loss against the division’s bottom club dropped them to 9-8 and eliminated from the postseason.
After Jacksonville enjoyed an 8-3 start and was in the running for the top spot in the AFC playoffs, there occurred a startling collapse. However, before Sunday’s loss to the Titans, they had dropped four straight games against the Bengals, Browns, Ravens, and Buccaneers, jeopardizing their postseason prospects.
Jacksonville allowed an average of 29.2 points per game to opponents in those five losses. The Jaguars ranked 22nd in total defense and 17th in scoring defense for the season while allowing 21.8 points per game.
Jacksonville’s late-season issues didn’t rest strictly on its defense. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggled through ankle and shoulder injuries during the playoff push, and Jacksonville’s offense suffered. The Jaguars managed seven points in a Week 15 loss to the Ravens and 12 a week later in a loss to the Bucs when Lawrence injured his shoulder. Lawrence threw two costly interceptions Sunday against the Titans.
Caldwell played 11 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker before starting his coaching career as a defensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008. He’s also worked for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the inside linebackers coach with the Bucs under then-defensive coordinator and current head coach Todd Bowles when they won the Super Bowl after the 2021 season.
