Report: Eagles will interview Mike Caldwell

Report: Eagles will interview Mike Caldwell

The Philadelphia Eagles are interviewing former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, according to a report from NFL insider Jeremy Fowler.

It’s not perfectly clear if Caldwell is interviewing for the DC role. Fowler did not explicitly say state as much. He just said “Philly [is] looking for a new defensive coordinator” after first saying the Eagles will interview Caldwell.

Fowler also notes that Caldwell is expected to talk to the Las Vegas Raiders about a potential role, perhaps as a senior defensive assistant.

Eagles fans will recognize Caldwell, who turns 53 in August, as a former player and coach for the organization. Caldwell played linebacker in Philly from 1998 through 2001 before rising through the coaching ranks on Andy Reid’s staff from 2008 through 2012.

After earning praise as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ inside linebackers coach from 2019 through 2021, Doug Pederson hired his former Eagles teammate to be his DC in 2022. Caldwell was recently fired, however, after the Jags went 3-6 in their final nine games to miss the playoffs.

Here’s how Caldwell’s defenses ranked in terms of defensive DVOA, opponent yards per play, opponent offensive points per game, respectively.

2022: 23rd, t-15th (5.4), t-17th (21.5)

2023: 10th, t-19th (5.4), 18th (21.0)

And it should be noted that the Jags had the NFL’s third-most cap space dedicated to defense in 2022 and sixth in 2023.

So, not exactly the most impressive results as a DC.

As a linebackers coach, though? Caldwell helped oversee the development of Devin White in addition to working with established veteran Lavonte David.

The Eagles might look to replace linebackers coach D.J. Eliot just one year after hiring him away from Temple. Eliot is hardly a top reason why the Eagles’ linebackers weren’t great in 2023 but the team might want a change at a position of weakness nonetheless.