Jaguars fire defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell
The Jacksonville Jaguars fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, the team announced Monday night.
Defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, defensive quality control coach Sean Cullina, inside linebackers coach Tony Gilbert, safeties coach Cody Grimm, defensive quality control coach Tee Mitchell, senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton, and passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend were also fired.
Caldwell, 52, was hired by the Jaguars in 2022 when Doug Pederson put together his first staff with the team. Prior to that, Caldwell spent three seasons as the inside linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had stints as an assistant with the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2023, the Jaguars finished 22nd in yards allowed and 17th in points allowed. While the team was eighth in the NFL in takeaways with 27, two-thirds of those forced turnovers came in the first eight games of the year. In the latter half of the season, the takeaways dried up and the Jacksonville defense failed to keep the team in games as it had in September and October.
The Jaguars defense was led by the pass rushing duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker, who combined for 27.5 sacks in 2023. The rest of the team combined for 12.5 sacks, though, and the Jaguars finished 25th in total sacks.
