FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - He comes off as so quiet, so mellow, similar to his predecessor but different, too. Jim Caldwell carries with him the lesson, born from countless days and nights in the mountains, working at the side of the master.

The lesson was so simple it almost sounded trite. Focus on the details. Sweat the small stuff. Obsess over the littlest thing, like making your athletic department colleagues wear ties because, by God, this is a respectable university and that's what respectable employees do.

If you do that, Joe Paterno would tell his young assistant, the big things would take care of themselves. Big things such as wins. And records. And championships.

And so it is that Caldwell finds himself on the cusp of football glory in just his first season as a head coach in the National Football League. He is, in essence, a 55-year-old rookie, leading the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday night.

Somewhere on his shoulder, or whispering in his ear, or reverberating in his brain this week has been Paterno, reminding Caldwell that "a belief in fundamentals and technique, that's what's going to carry you through."

"Even during times when we had difficulties, oftentimes what we'd do is pare everything back and go back to the basics," Caldwell said earlier this week. "I think that's something I do carry with me, I believe in, and I certainly emphasize.

"The other thing is this quote that he always said that I certainly believe in: 'Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves.' We try to focus on the very little things, the details of it all."

Born in Beloit, Wis., Caldwell arrived at Penn State in 1986 after hopping around the college landscape since he graduated in 1976 from the University of Iowa, where he was a four-year starter at defensive back. He spent a year as a graduate assistant for the Hawkeyes, then blew through Southern Illinois, Northwestern, Colorado, and Louisville before getting the call from Paterno.

Caldwell worked with the wide receivers in 1986 and the quarterbacks in '87, and then was the "passing game coordinator" from 1988 until 1992, when he got his first, and only other, head coaching gig, at Wake Forest University.

"Jim Caldwell was one of the best assistant coaches I've had at Penn State," Paterno said through an athletic department spokesman. "I thought he did a great job as a head coach at Wake Forest and am pleased to see the success he's having as head coach of the Colts. Jim is a great teacher, has a plan about how he wants to get things done, and pays attention to the little details that often decide a tough football game."

In other words, Caldwell sweats the small stuff.

Caldwell was on the staff in 1986 when Penn State won the national championship. He also was instrumental in shaping Kerry Collins into the Davey O'Brien Award winner as the nation's top college quarterback and the Maxwell Award winner as the nation's most outstanding player.

It was time well spent.

Caldwell spent eight years at Wake Forest and then joined Dungy for what turned out to be his final year at Tampa Bay, in 2001. It was Caldwell's first foray into the NFL, again as a quarterbacks coach, and he moved on when Dungy ended up in Indianapolis in 2002.

The men have similar demeanors, rarely appear to get rattled, believe in delegating authority, and are devoutly religious, often sharing Bible verses with the players.

But Caldwell has, as Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore said, put his own "stamp" on the franchise since Dungy opted to retire following last season.

"It's definitely Jim Caldwell's team," said the 71-year-old Moore, who has been with Indianapolis since 1998, when Jim Mora was the coach and the team selected Peyton Manning with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. "He's done a tremendous job. Coming in and replacing Tony, he had the advantage of working with Tony, but Jim's his own guy."

Caldwell allows players to have, and voice, an opinion. He also is plugged in about what's going on inside the locker room, and he genuinely cares. The Colts have a system where, if a player has a problem with something that's going on, the player can go to a team captain, and the captain has a direct line of communication with the head coach.

While the Eagles have a similar setup, it isn't always like that.

Caldwell isn't the rah-rah coach who gives fiery pregame speeches. Mistakes - the littlest ones - are what irritate him the most. That, and ones that draw unnecessary attention to the organization.

"Off-the-field mistakes, he gets angry about that," said Colts linebacker Gary Brackett. "We pride ourselves on how we handle and conduct ourselves off the field, taking care of all the little things and making sure our names are not in the newspaper for something destructive. That's when he gets a little upset and frustrated."

Penn State is claiming Caldwell, as they should, this weekend. A team spokesman said Paterno was "rooting for him this weekend. We all are."

A little bit of Caldwell will always be tied to the school, and to Paterno.

"There were a number of things I learned" there, Caldwell said. "I worked for him for seven years, and I think he's certainly one of the finest teachers in the game. A great instructor. He has a great feel for the game, in all phases."

And for all the details, just like Caldwell.

Contact staff writer Ashley Fox

at 215-854-5064 or afox@phillynews.com.