Jim Caldwell Fired: Kansas City Chiefs Should Not Hire Him to Fill OC Position

The Indianapolis Colts' recently jettisoned coach Jim Caldwell could come up as a potential name for the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator position. Caldwell possesses the best winning record as a rookie coach, going 14-2 in the regular season before losing to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLVI.

In fact, Caldwell entered the 2011 season with a 24-8 record; even after this year's abysmal showing, he still maintains a 54 percent win percentage in season play.

Before the Colts elevated Caldwell to head coach, he spent nine seasons as their quarterbacks coach, helping Peyton Manning develop into arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. New England Patriots fans will likely take offense, but few can argue with Manning's unparalleled ability to read and adjust to a defense.

The context of those statements is what makes Caldwell a questionable prospect. Manning might be all that and a bag of chips, but is that because of Caldwell's tutelage or Manning's overall talent and determination? If it's the former, then why has Indianapolis failed to develop a quality backup while New England and Green Bay boast the likes of Matt Cassel and Matt Flynn?

The same goes for Caldwell's record; all his success happened with Manning at the helm. Once Manning left the lineup, the rest of the team folded.

And even if Caldwell was a positive contributor to Manning's success (rather than the other way around), would Caldwell even fit with Kansas City's personnel? The Colts aren’t known for their run offense, and Wake Forest similarly lacked a ground game under Caldwell’s direction. In 1994, their lead rusher only gained 261 yards on the season.

That statistic would likely be the hardest thing to overcome should he interview to be the Chiefs offensive coordinator in a run-oriented offense.