Vikings

Former Head Coach Turns Down Minnesota Vikings Interview Request

Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons (USA TODAY Sports)

The Minnesota Vikings are leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit for their next head coach. While the list of names is long, one name you won’t see on it is former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell who has reportedly turned down the Vikings interview.

If Caldwell’s name sounds familiar, it should. From 2014 to 2017, Caldwell was the head coach of the Detroit Lions, who, under his tenure, went 36-28. Considering where the Lions have finished in recent years, a winning record in 3 of his 4 seasons in charge is an incredible accomplishment. Despite Caldwell being the first Lions head coach to finish with a winning record since the early ’70s, they still fired him in favor of Matt Patricia at the end of the 2017 season.

Since his time with Detroit ended, Caldwell has interviewed for other head coaching openings. In 2018 he interviewed for the Packers and Jets jobs. This offseason he has already interviewed for both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.

There’s a possibility that he has been promised a job at one of those two places, which would explain him turning down the opportunity to at least visit with other teams. Graziano went as far as betting Caldwell ends up with the job in Chicago when it’s all said and done.

“If I had to bet right now, I’d say Caldwell ends up in Chicago, where former Colts general manager Bill Polian is helping direct the search, though it’s obviously interesting that Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is scheduled for a second interview there,” wrote Graziano.

Of course, there’s also the possibility that Caldwell isn’t interested in coaching in Minnesota or Las Vegas, which is a bit of a long-shot considering the vast amount of resources with those two franchises. The Vikings have the best coaching situation in the league by far with a talented roster and owners that put organizational stability over everything else.

While many prospective head coaches would salivate at the chance of coaching the Vikings, for some reason Caldwell isn’t one of them.

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