Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell interviewing with the Denver Broncos Wednesday

Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell started the week with one head coaching interview, and on Wednesday he had another.

Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell had an interview for the Carolina Panthers head coaching job on Monday, but it seemed likely it wouldn’t be his only interview. Indeed, according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Caldwell has an interview with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday.

Since being fired by the Lions after the 2017 season, Caldwell has interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears, with the Bears giving him a second interview last year.

Caldwell has not worked on a staff since 2019 with the Miami Dolphins, as he left his post for health reasons in the middle of that season, but he did do some consulting for a new rendition of the XFL.

Caldwell had a 36-28 record over four seasons as the head coach in Detroit, with three winning seasons and two playoff berths. But a 9-7 season in 2017 was deemed not good enough by then-GM Bob Quinn, who of course replaced Caldwell with Matt Patricia. Patricia went 13-29-1 over less than three seasons as Lions’ head coach.

Jim Caldwell is obviously still very well-respected around the NFL

Caldwell has success working with quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco and Matthew Stafford over the course of his coaching career in the NFL, and he apparently showed up to his Bears’ interview a year ago with a plan for an offense shaped around the skills of Justin Fields. So any team looking for someone to connect with a quarterback and/or revive an offense should give him a look for a job.

In terms of the Broncos’ head coaching job, it’s easy to be skeptical about Caldwell’s desire to work with quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson’s steep decline in skill this season is one thing, and enough of a concern. But a widespread effort from Broncos’ offensive players to prop up how good a teammate he is was contrived and orchestrated, not to mention how it went against what was often on display right out on the field during the season.

Caldwell may not want the headache Wilson is. But he might have turned down the interview if he thought the Broncos’ signal caller couldn’t be fixed, or he didn’t want to work with him.

Time will tell if Caldwell is a serious candidate for the head coaching job in Denver, or anywhere else. But if he wants to work, even as an offensive coordinator or a quarterbacks coach if it comes to that, it should be in the cards for a coach who is still very well-respected around the league.

In other former Lions head coach news, Jim Schwartz is reportedly lined up to interview for the defensive coordinator post with the Cleveland Browns.