Jim Caldwell was the first African American coach in the ACC when he was named head coach of Wake Forrest in 1993. He installed a passing attack that set many school records at the time. Unfortunately the passing attack was not enough to make Wake Forrest a winner. Due to lack of run game and defense Caldwell finished his college coaching career with a 26-63 record.
After parting ways with Wake Forrest Caldwell joined Tony Dungy's staff as quarterbacks coach in Tampa in 2001. He then followed Dungy to Indianapolis in 2002 and stayed as the teams quarterbacks coach developing one of the most feared passing attacks in the NFL with Quarterback Peyton Manning. Again, the run game wasn't a major factor most years for the Colts offense. He went on to help the Colts win Super Bowl XLI and was named as Tony Dungy's successor in 2008 and named head coach when Dungy retired in 2009.
Jim Caldwell went on to win his first 14 games as a head coach setting the record for consecutive wins by a rookie coach. As Head coach Caldwell opened up the passing game even more in Indianapolis and the Colts went on to beat the Ravens in the playoffs for his first playoff win. The Colts later lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Super bowl. The following season the Colts again made the playoffs but lost in disappointing fashion to the New York Jets. Then last season, when Peyton Manning was hurt and Caldwell and the Colts finished with a 2-14 record proving that their reliance solely on the passing game to win had left them a sub par team in other areas.
So what does The addition of Caldwell to the Ravens coaching staff as quarterbacks coach mean for Joe Flacco. The team is obviously trying to amp up their passing attack in 2012. Ever since the Ravens drafted Flacco they have done something to try to improve the passing game in the off season. The addition of Caldwell is a clear sign of their intentions.
Caldwell preaches quick release which has been a point in Flacco's game that has always needed to improve. He has a history of improving the passing attack every where he has gone. Unfortunately the run game has never been a big part of his offenses. Caldwell however will not be making those calls. The Ravens brought him in to do one thing and one thing only. Make Joe Flacco better. Flacco was good enough to go to the Super Bowl last season when it came down to it but he still had some head scratchers during the season. His performances against Seattle, Jacksonville and Tennessee were not good and Caldwell was brought in to try and make Flacco more consistent.
"He's highly motivated," Caldwell said. "He can be rather quiet, but Joe is very, very focused. He's working to improve everything in his game, from top to bottom. He's one of those guys who's never satisfied with where he is and he can always get better."
Caldwell's stress on fundamentals has been noticed in OTA's already in Baltimore and Flacco is looking sharper than ever. The Ravens have had an up and down off season so far, with more downs than ups, but the addition of Caldwell is a positive sign for the offense. If he can make the passing attack just a bit better by working with Flacco to be more consistent the Ravens will be a truly complete team. As long as the offensive line makes it through the off season in tact that is. Let's just hope that the team keeps him as far away from the running backs as possible. We are good in that department. Thanks though....