The Florida Gators are entering a new era — and not just on the sidelines. In addition to tabbing Jon Sumrall as its next football coach, Florida is hiring former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell for the same role in Gainesville, sources confirm to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
After working his way up through the scouting ranks, Caldwell was hired by the Jaguars in 2013. Just nine days after taking the job, Caldwell fired coach Mike Mularkey and brought in Gus Bradley as his replacement.
In the 2014 NFL Draft, Caldwell selected quarterback Blake Bortles with the No. 3 overall pick and wide receiver Allen Robinson at No. 61. Among the other notable draft picks during Caldwell’s tenure were Jalen Ramsey (2016), Yannick Ngakoue (2016), Leonard Fournette (2017) and Josh Allen (2019).
During the 2016 season, Caldwell fired Bradley, and interim coach Doug Marrone took over in a full-time role the following season. The Jaguars’ best season during Caldwell’s tenure came in 2017 when they reached the AFC Championship Game before narrowly losing to the New England Patriots on the road.
Jacksonville was never able to recapture the magic of that season, and the team went 12-36 in the three seasons after that AFC title run. The Jaguars fired Caldwell in the middle of the 2020 season following a 1-10 start. The franchise went 37-86 under Caldwell’s watch.
In 2021, Caldwell joined the Philadelphia Eagles front office as a senior personnel director and advisor to the general manager. He won Super Bowl LIX with the team last season.
The hiring of Caldwell is another example of college football taking a more professional approach in the age of NIL and revenue sharing. In this case, Caldwell may be able to take some of the roster-building pressure off Sumrall, allowing him to focus more of his attention on coaching.
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