Jack Del Rio

At 61 years old, Jack Del Rio has this physical status:

Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is a retired American football coach and player.

Between 1985 and 1996, he was a linebacker in five NFL clubs in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football and baseball at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Del Rio began his teaching career with the New Orleans Saints as an assistant strength and linebacker coach.

He was the linebacker coach on the Super Bowl XXV-winning Baltimore Ravens and offensive coordinator on the Charlotte Panthers and the Denver Broncos.

He served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 to 2011, the second in team history, and the Oakland Raiders' second.

Del Rio was fired in 2017 after three seasons with the team.

Early years

Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. was born in Castro Valley, California, to big bandleader Jack Del Rio, Sr., who was of Spanish descent and an Italian-American mother. Peggy Lee, the famous singer, was briefly El Rio's stepmother after marrying Jack, Sr. Del Rio, who graduated from Hayward High School in Hayward, California, where he blossomed into a nationally recognized three-sport star, winning all-state awards in football, baseball, and basketball.

Del Rio, a footballer, helped his team win the North Coast Section 2A Championship. Jack was used as a pitcher in one game against Mission San Jose-Fremont, although he was the starting catcher. Jack and Don Wakamatsu, the current Seattle Mariners' manager, were teammates in baseball and football.

Personal life

Del Rio earned a bachelor degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1990 while working for the Kansas City Chiefs. Del Rio was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. Del Rio served as an ESPN analyst in 2019. Luke, his uncle, was a college football quarterback for the Florida Gators in the mid-2010s and was an offensive quality control coach for the Washington Commanders.

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College career

Del Rio was disqualified from high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round (550th overall) of the 1981 MLB Draft, but he decided instead to receive a scholarship from the University of Southern California to play both football and baseball. Del Rio was a two-year starter at catcher on a team that also included former Major League Baseball players Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson, as well as future baseball executive Damon Oppenheimer.

Del Rio was a four-year starter in football. He was a member of the 1983 All-American team as a junior. Del Rio, a senior, was runner-up for the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's best lineman or linebacker, and was named alongside quarterback Tim Green co-MVP of the Rose Bowl. He had 340 tackles, including 58 tackles for loss, during his college career. Del Rio was drafted into the second team All-Pac-10 in 1984, the first time in his college career he did not make first team.

Professional career

In the third round (68th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft, Del Rio was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. In the 1985 USFL Territorial Draft, he was also selected by the Los Angeles Express. Jack began nine games right inside linebacker, tied for five fumble recoveries (one returned for a 22-yard touchdown) and received NFL All-Rookie honors as a rookie. Del Rio had 68 tackles, five passes defense, and three defensive fumbles. After the season's opener, Del Rio lost his starting position to Alvin Toles in 1986, totaling just 20 tackles.

Del Rio was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in August 1987 in exchange for a fifth round draft pick, reuniting him with former Saints defensive coordinator John Paul Young. He appeared in nine games right outside linebacker, with 45 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.

After week two, the NFL players went on strike in September. Del Rio and his family members were selected outside of Arrowhead Stadium and were on the lookout for replacement players trying to enter the stadium. Otis Taylor, the former Chiefs wide receiver, was wrongly dismissed for a replacement player and assaulted him. Taylor, a 45-year-old boy, had been a scout for the Chiefs firm and had been reserving for a year. Taylor later pressed charges and pleaded guilty and dropped out of court.

In 1988, Del Rio played 77 tackles, one sack, and one pass defense. On August 29, 1989, he was released.

Del Rio was ostensibly released waivers by the Dallas Cowboys on August 30, 1989. In the fifth game against the Green Bay Packers, he was named starter at a strongside linebacker, where he suffered a bruised calf, causing him to miss the next two games. Del Rio's season began with twelve games as a strongside linebacker, while David Howard and his partner in the final eight games, playing in the first and third quarters, totaling 58 tackles, two fumble recoveries (including one returning for a 57-yard touchdown) and one pass defense.

Del Rio's first season as a strongside linebacker began all 16 games with 104 tackles (third on the team), 1.5 sacks, four quarterback pressures, and two passes defensed. Del Rio made Eugene Lockhart the starter at middle linebacker in 1991, while the team was led by 130 total tackles, 53 assists, and 77 solo tackles.

The Cowboys wanted to save a premium and adversely impacting the salary cap by drafting linebackers in the 1990s, so they encouraged players like Del Rio, Ken Norton Jr., Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones, Randall Godfrey, and Randall Godfrey to leave via free agency.

Del Rio signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings on March 4, 1992. He was with the team in tackles for three years and was voted to the 1995 Pro Bowl. Del Rio suffered a knee injury in a game against the Chicago Bears in 1995 and only played one more game that season, which would be his last game of his career.

Del Rio reuniting him with former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson on June 2, 1996, on June 2, 1996. After being passed on the depth chart by rookie Zach Thomas on August 4, he was released. Del Rio made his career with 160 games (128 starts), 1,005 tackles, 13 interceptions, and 13 interceptions.

Coaching career

In 1997, Del Rio was hired by New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka as the team's strength and conditioning coach, before transitioning to linebacker coach next year. In 1999, he was in the same position with the Baltimore Ravens as he did in 1999. In part, Del Rio is credited for the Ravens' Super Bowl-winning defense, particularly in the 2000 season. He was named defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers in 2001, and the Carolina Panthers' second-ranked defense in the league by total yards in 2002.

Following Tom Coughlin's dismissal, Del Rio became the second head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003. He led the team to a 5–11 record in his first season. Jacksonville finished the year with the second-ranked rush defense and sixth best overall defense, ranking 15th and 20th in those two categories, respectively. The Jaguars barely escaped the playoffs in 2004 with a 9-7 record, the first winning record in five seasons. For the first time since advancing all the way to the AFC championship game in 1999, the team made the playoffs for the first time since being able to the AFC championship game. They categorized as a wild card, but the New England Patriots' season came to an end with a 28-3 loss.

Del Rio's slogan, "keep chopping wood," was supposed to show how the team would gradually get rid of the team's huge obstacles in front of them. Del Rio's locker room contained a wooden stump and axe as a mark of his resurgent cries. After his teammates were playing with the axe, punter Chris Hanson followed suit and sustained his non-kicking foot. Hanson was out for the remainder of the 2003 season after being replaced by Mark Royals.

Jacksonville cut quarterback Byron Leftwich in favour of David Garrard, who missed the playoffs in 2006. In 2007, the team made their first playoff game since 1999. Del Rio's deal with the Jaguars was extended through the 2012 season on April 3, 2008.

Del Rio, his alma mater, was given the job as head coach at USC on January 11, 2010. He denied receiving an invitation from USC the next day, saying that the bid was "manufactured." He officially denied USC later that afternoon, announcing that he would continue with the Jaguars at least through the remainder of his current deal.

Del Rio was fired as Jacksonville's head coach on November 29, 2011. In two playoff appearances over his nine years, he left with a regular season record of 68–71 and a 1–2 record. Del Rio holds the NFL record for the longest tenure of any head coach to never winning a division championship since his time with the Jaguars.

Del Rio was hired as the Denver Broncos' new defensive coordinator on January 27, 2012. Del Rio was fined $25,000 for berating the replacement officials in Week 2. Del Rio was given the head coaching duties and named interim head coach for several games as a result of medical reasons on November 4, 2013.

Del Rio was hired to serve as the Broncos' head coach on January 14, 2015, replacing the fired Dennis Allen (who also had preceded him as the Broncos defensive coordinator) and interim head coach Tony Sparano.

Del Rio led the Raiders to a 12-4 record in 2016, the team's first appearance since 2002. In the wild card round, the Texans lost to the Houston Texans.

Del Rio's four-year contract extension was signed on February 10, 2017. Del Rio was suspended after the Raiders' 30–10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2017 regular season finale, which culminated in a 6–10 record.

In 2019, he was considered to be the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator, but talks ultimately ended after new head coach Zac Taylor decided he was not a good fit.

Del Rio was hired by the Washington Football Team, then known as the Redskins, on January 2, 2020, to act as their defensive coordinator under head coach Ron Rivera. Del Rio upgraded their defensive scheme from a 3-4, which the team had used for the past decade, to a 4-3.

Del Rio called the Capitol attack "dust up" and compared the rioting of the capital to the looting and looting that occurred during several of the 2020 George Floyd protests in June 2022. The Washington Commanders fined Del Rio for $100,000 along with Head Coach Ron Rivera's warning that his views were not representative of the team.

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Awards and honors

• Selected to USC Athletic Hall of Fame (2014)
• NCAA Silver Anniversary award (2010)
• Super Bowl champion (XXXV) as coach
• All-Pro selection (1994)
• Pro Bowl selection (1994)
• NFL's All-Rookie Team (1985)
• Saints' Rookie of the Year (1985)
• CO-MVP of Rose Bowl (1985)
• All-America honors as a senior (1984)
• Pop Warner Trophy (1984)