Panthers Add Jim Caldwell To Staff

The Panthers continue to add noteworthy names to their new-look coaching staff. The team announced on Tuesday that Jim Caldwell as been hired under the title of senior assistant.

The 68-year-old was in consideration for the Panthers’ head coaching position, interviewing for it last month. Caldwell also met with the Broncos before they ultimately acquired Sean Payton to lead their staff. Carolina hired Frank Reich as their new bench boss, and this move will allow he and Caldwell to work together once again.

The latter has an extensive background on offense, but the team announcement notes that he will have a hand in all three phases of the game. That will give Caldwell a somewhat similar role to his previous head coaching positions in Indianapolis and Detroit. He and Reich each held multiple titles with the Colts during their shared time there, eventually leading the latter back to Indianapolis until his midseason 2022 firing.

His staff has taken on a much different look compared to that of his predecessor, Matt Rhule. Caldwell (also a Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator during his two-year stint in Baltimore) brings a wealth of experience from nearly two decades coaching in the NFL. This Panthers position will be his first since 2019, when he worked as the quarterbacks coach in Miami.

Just as Caldwell will assist (in part) on an offensive staff which has Josh McCown in place as QBs coach, Dom Capers was recently brought in to work with the defense. He will provide defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero with an experienced voice on the sidelines, as they look to steer the Panthers towards an improved showing in 2023. The addition of Caldwell will certainly add to the team’s payroll in terms of its coaching staff, but also its expectations.