Is rookie Head Coach Jim Caldwell cut from the same cloth as Super Bowl winning Head Coach Tony Dungy?

The Indianapolis Colts achieved greatness when Tony Dungy took over in 2002 but many pundits believe that the team now under Head Coach Jim Caldwell is more than just an offensive juggernaut.

Jim Caldwell enters his first season as head coach of the Colts. Caldwell has served with Indianapolis for the past seven years. He was elevated to associate head coach with the club on January 21, 2008. Caldwell spent his first three seasons as quarterbacks coach before earning the expanded title of assistant head coach prior to the 2005 season.

Super Bowl Odds:

New Orleans Saints +5.5
Indianapolis Colts -5.5
O/U 56.5

The fact that Caldwell grew as a coach under Dungy’s watch is the number 1 reason why the Colts made the Super Bowl under a rookie Head Coach.

Caldwell was a four-year starter playing defensive back for the University of Iowa in the late 1970s but never got a chance to make it into the NFL.

He started his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Southern Illinois University, Northwestern, Colorado, Louisville, and Penn State.

Get in on the action now bet on Indianapolis -5.5 vs New Orleans > > SIGN UP HERE

Caldwell joined Penn State as wide receivers coach. He then coached quarterbacks the following season and took on passing game coordinator responsibilities in 1988. At Penn State Caldwell coached QB-Kerry Collins (currently QB with the NFL Titans), who went on to win the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top college quarterback and the Maxwell Award as the nation’s most outstanding player.

Then he moved on as the head coach at Wake Forest.  Caldwell had a terrible 26-63 record as a Demons’ coach with just one winning season in 10 years, that season they ended up winning the Aloha Bowl.  I guess it proves that a coach is only as good as the situation he’s in.

In 2001 he was called by Tony Dungy to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the quarterbacks coach but he only lasted one year there because he left with Dungy when he was fired.

The following year when Dungy got hired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts Caldwell went along with him and became quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach.

His experience in Dungy’s lean years with the Colts from 2002 to 2006 when they finally won the Lombardi Trophy, which helped him to drive Indy into this year’s Super Bowl.

When Dungy retired Caldwell was named the new Colts head coach and the news didn’t surprise anybody.  He ran a successful offense for 7 years, an offense that was about the best in the league every season (with a big assist to Peyton Manning).

As you know, in the first season as the head coach of the Colts Caldwell holds the NFL record for the best start by a rookie head coach, starting his career with 14 wins. Caldwell’s 14-2 season marked the best record by an African American coach, beating the previous record of 13-3 by Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith.

Caldwell’s Colts are 5.5 point favorites to win the Super Bowl currently there are 2 questions left unanswered:

1. Can a rookie head coach win a Super Bowl?
2. Could a rookie head coach have had a perfect season?

Only one of these questions remains to be answered this season.

If you enjoyed this article then get full access to all our other features plus a 50% bonus when you sign up with us by clicking on this link