Mike Caldwell joins the Raiders as the run game coordinator/linebackers coach in 2024, bringing with him 16 years of NFL coaching experience and 11 years of playing experience in the NFL.
Caldwell comes to Las Vegas after spending the last two seasons (2022-23) with the Jacksonville Jaguars as the defensive coordinator. Under his leadership, the Jaguars defense only allowed 103.1 rushing yards per game in 2023, the ninth fewest in the NFL. OLB Josh Allen broke the single-season franchise sack record with 17.5 sacks, tied for the second most in the NFL in 2023. The Jaguars defense also recorded 27 takeaways in 2023, tied for the eighth most in the NFL. With 27 takeaways in 2022, this was the first time since 2004-05 a Jaguars defense recorded 25+ takeaways in back-to-back seasons.
In 2022, his first season with the Jaguars, Caldwell's defense finished first in the NFL in passes defensed (95) and tied for fourth in takeaways (27), as well as 12th in rushing yards allowed per game (114.8). LB Foye Oluokun led the league in tackles with 184 and also set the franchise record for tackles in a season.
Caldwell spent the previous three seasons (2019-21) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the inside linebackers coach. During that span, the Buccaneers led the NFL in rushing defense, allowing only 82.5 rushing yards per game and 3.72 yards per carry to opponents. The Buccaneers defense also produced the NFL's third-most takeaways (82), third-most sacks (142) and allowed the league's ninth-fewest yards per game (334.1). Under Caldwell, LB Lavonte David was named Associated Press Second Team All-Pro in 2020, while LB Devin White was named Associated Press Second Team All-Pro in 2020 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2021. In 2021, the Buccaneers defense allowed just 92.5 rushing yards per game, the third-fewest in the league, along with 20.8 points per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL. LB Devin White finished with a team-high 128 tackles, while LB Lavonte David finished second with 97 tackles.
In 2020, Caldwell was part of a Buccaneers defense that led the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (80.6) and ranked sixth in total yards allowed per game (327.1), finishing the season with a 11-5 record and a Super Bowl LV victory. Caldwell's unit included LB Devin White, who finished the year ranked third in the NFL in solo tackles (97), tied for third in tackles for loss (15) and fifth in total tackles (140), adding 9.0 sacks. LB Lavonte David also continued his run as one of the league's most consistently productive linebackers, compiling 117 tackles (12 for loss), six passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
In 2019, Caldwell's first season with the Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David posted his seventh season with 100-or-more tackles and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis as the only two players with at least 1,000 tackles, 20.0 sacks and 10 interceptions through eight seasons since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. LB Devi White overcame an early-season injury to lead the 2019 rookie class with 7.0 tackles per game and earn NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors in both November and December.
Prior to his time in Tampa Bay, Caldwell spent four seasons (2015-18) working as the assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach with the New York Jets under head coach Todd Bowles. During his time in New York, Jets defenses held opponents to 4.0 yards per carry, the sixth-lowest figure in the NFL over that span. In Caldwell's first season with the Jets (2015), New York allowed a franchise-low 83.4 rushing yards allowed per game, which ranked second in the NFL. Under Caldwell's guidance, LBs Demario Davis (135 in 2017) and Avery Williamson (120 in 2018) each posted career highs in total tackles.
Before his time with the Jets, Caldwell spent two seasons (2013-14) coaching linebackers for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals' 2013 unit led allowed the fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL (84.4) and the sixth fewest total yards allowed per game (317.4).
Caldwell began his coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles, working first as a training camp intern in 2007 before spending two seasons (2008-09) as a defensive quality control coach. He then spent the 2010 season as the Eagles assistant linebackers coach before being elevated to linebackers coach in 2011, a position he held for two seasons (2011-12). Over his two seasons as linebackers coach in Philadelphia, the Eagles defense ranked in the top half of the league in total defense, allowing the eighth fewest yards in the NFL (324.9) in 2011 and the 15th fewest yards allowed in 2012 (343.2).
PERSONAL: An Oak Ridge, Tenn. Native…Played 11 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker, making stops with the Cleveland Browns (1993-95), Baltimore Ravens (1996), Arizona Cardinals (1997), Philadelphia Eagles (1998-2001), Chicago Bears (2002) and Carolina Panthers (2003)…Played in 159 career games (49 starts) and racked up 562 total tackles (412 solo), 21 tackles for loss, eight interceptions (three INTs returned for a touchdown), 22 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries…Attended Middle Tennessee State University, where his collegiate career earned him a spot in the Football Hall of Fame at MTSU…He and his wife, Sue, have two daughters, Sydnei and Saniah, and a son, Simeon.
