*Jim Caldwell is in his third season as head coach of the Colts. He joined Indianapolis in 2002 as quarterbacks coach before gaining the title of assistant head coach in 2005 and associate head coach in 2008. In his first two seasons at the helm, Caldwell has directed the Colts to 14-2 and 10-6 regular-season records, winning consecutive AFC South titles, an AFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl XLIV. Caldwell is one of approximately 30 NFL head coaches ever to produce 24 regular-season victories and a Super Bowl berth in any two-year career span, while being one of four field leaders to do it in opening a career. Caldwell spent a few moments recently visiting with Colts.com. -
- PART ONE What was the first level of football you ever experienced?"It was Pop Warner. You could start playing Pop Warner in our area at nine or 10 years old. I was nine. That was my first experience."
What was the name of your first team?"It was the Packers. Our uniforms were similar to the Green Bay Packers, and we had a pretty good team.
What position did you play?"I was a running back and defensive back."
Were those the only positions you played or did you play others?"You played a little bit of everything back in those days. I remember playing a little bit of linebacker. Sometimes it depended on who showed up. It was a lot of fun."
What was your best sport growing up?
"Early on it was probably baseball. I started playing baseball before I played football. I would say that was probably my best sport initially. I was a pitcher, shortstop and later on I played some centerfield. I loved to play."
Did you have a favorite baseball player?"I had quite a few of them. Ernie Banks and Willie Mays. I really enjoyed watching (Mays), but the Cubs were my favorite team growing up relatively close to Chicago. I remember my dad even early on talking about Willie Mays and how much he loved to watch him play. He'd get excited about Willie Mays making that basket catch out in centerfield and how fast Willie Mays could run. Obviously, he hit the ball well also."
Who was the first true football influence you ever had?"It probably was my Pop Warner coach, Coach Kotenberg. He was a tough, hard-nosed guy but yet, he certainly taught us all the fundamentals and techniques we needed to know to play the game and play it correctly. During that point in time there were a lot of coaches who were influenced by Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi was tough and sometimes a lot of coaches tried to imitate Coach Lombardi even when dealing with nine- and 10-year olds. But Coach Kotenberg, I think, had the right balance between toughness, technical knowledge and compassion. He certainly set a good example for us."
