Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
New Jacksonville Jaguars general manger Dave Caldwell is going to leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding a new head coach.
Last week at his introductory press conference, Caldwell stated that there was no timetable for his coaching search. Now it appears that he is prepared to interview several candidates before he makes a decision.
The Jaguars have already spoken to defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Now there are reports that the Jaguars plan on speaking to both Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell this week.
Bradley has been the Seahawks defensive coordinator for the past 4 seasons and is thought to be one of the finalists for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job. Bevell, who made his name coaching Brett Favre with both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, was believed to be a finalist for the Chicago Bears head job before they hired Marc Trestman.
The Jaguars coaching search will almost certainly extend into next week when they will be able to interview candidates from teams who are playing in championship games this weekend. Caldwell reportedly favors San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was his college roommate at John Carroll University. Caldwell may also be interested in talking to candidates from his former team the Atlanta Falcons.
While this extended coaching search almost certainly means that the Jaguars coaching staff will not be in place by the time the Senior Bowl rolls around, but Caldwell should not feel any sort of pressure to rush his decision. The Jaguars scouting staff for the lead up to the draft is already in place and will be able to represent the team at the college showcase games and fill in the coaching staff when they are hired.
Getting this hire right is more important to Caldwell than anything right now and the fact that he is willing to speak to several candidates leads me to believe he knows how important it is.
