Jack Del Rio

Del Rio was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round (68th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft.[8] He was also selected by the Los Angeles Express in the 1985 USFL Territorial Draft. As a rookie, Jack started 9 games at right inside linebacker, tied a franchise record with 5 fumble recoveries (including one returned for a 22-yard touchdown) and earned NFL All-rookie honors. Del Rio also collected 68 tackles, 5 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles.

In 1986, Del Rio lost his starting position to Alvin Toles after the season opener and finished with only 20 tackles.

On August 17, 1987, Del Rio was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a fifth round draft choice,[9] reuniting him with former Saints defensive coordinator John Paul Young. He started nine games at right outside linebacker, tallying 45 tackles, 2 sacks and one forced fumble.

That season the NFL players went on strike in September, after week two. Throughout this period of time, Del Rio and teammates picketed outside of Arrowhead Stadium and were vigilantly watching for replacement players attempting to enter the facility. He mistakenly mistook former Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor for a replacement player and assaulted him. At the time, the 45-year-old Taylor was a scout for the Chiefs organization and had been retired for twelve years. Chiefs fans who came across the assault told Del Rio that Taylor was actually an 11-year veteran and legend in the Kansas City Chiefs organization. Taylor later pressed charges and they settled out of court.[10]

In 1988, Del Rio started ten games at left outside linebacker, while registering 77 tackles, one sack and one pass defensed. He was released on August 29, 1989.[11]

On August 30, 1989, Del Rio was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Cowboys.[12] He was named the starter at strongside linebacker in the fifth game against the Green Bay Packers, where he suffered a bruised calf that forced him to miss the next two games. Del Rio started twelve contests at strongside linebacker, while sharing the position with David Howard in the final eight games, playing in the first and third quarters, finishing the season with 58 tackles, two fumble recoveries (including one returned for a 57-yard touchdown) and one pass defensed.

The next year, Del Rio started all sixteen games at strongside linebacker, making 104 tackles (third on the team), 1.5 sacks, four quarterback pressures and two passes defensed. In 1991, Del Rio replaced Eugene Lockhart as the starter at middle linebacker, while leading the team with 130 total tackles, 53 assists and 77 solo tackles.[13]

In the 1990s, the Cowboys organization felt they could avoid paying a premium and adversely impacting the salary cap by drafting linebackers, so they allowed talented and productive players like Del Rio, Ken Norton, Jr., Darrin Smith, Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones, and Randall Godfrey, to leave via free agency instead of signing them to long-term contracts.[14]

Del Rio with the Vikings (1990s)

On March 4, 1992, Del Rio was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings. He recorded 149 tackles and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.[15]

Del Rio led the team in tackles for three consecutive years and was selected to the Pro Bowl as a 'need player'.[16] The next year, he suffered a knee injury in the week 9 game against the Chicago Bears and started one late season contest after that, while being replaced with Jeff Brady.

On June 2, 1996, he signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, reuniting him with former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson.[17] On August 4, he was released after being passed on the depth chart by rookie Zach Thomas.[18] He finished his career with 160 game appearances (128 starts), 1,005 tackles, 13 sacks, and 13 interceptions.[19][lower-alpha 1]

Source:[19]

Del Rio in 2008 as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars

In 2003, Del Rio became the second head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars following Tom Coughlin's dismissal. In his first season, he led the team to a 5–11 record. That year, Jacksonville finished the season with the second-ranked rush defense and sixth best overall defense, having ranked 25th and 20th in those two categories, respectively, the year prior. In 2004, the Jaguars narrowly missed the playoffs with a 9–7 record, the first winning record in five seasons. The following season, the team made the playoffs for the first time since advancing all the way to the AFC title game in 1999. They qualified as a wild card; however, the season was ended with a 28–3 loss to the New England Patriots.

The mantra "keep chopping wood", introduced by Del Rio during the season, was intended to indicate how the team would slowly whittle away the huge obstacles in front of them. Del Rio placed a wooden stump and axe in the Jaguars' locker room as a symbol of his rallying cry. After his teammates had been taking swings at the wood with the axe, punter Chris Hanson followed suit and seriously wounded his non-kicking foot. Hanson missed the remainder of the 2003 season, being replaced by Mark Royals.[22]

After missing the playoffs in 2006, Jacksonville cut quarterback Byron Leftwich in favor of David Garrard. The team returned to the playoffs in 2007 winning their first playoff game since 1999.[23] On April 3, 2008, Del Rio's contract with the Jaguars was extended through the 2012 season.[24]

On January 11, 2010, Del Rio was offered the head coaching job at USC, his alma mater. The next day he denied receiving an offer from USC, stating that the offer was "manufactured".[25] Later that afternoon, he rebuffed USC officially, announcing that he would remain with the Jaguars at least through the duration of his current contract.[26]

On November 29, 2011, Del Rio was fired as Jacksonville's head coach. He left with a regular season record of 68–71 and a 1–2 record in two playoff appearances over his nine years.[23]

On January 27, 2012, Del Rio was hired as the new defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. In Week 2, Del Rio was fined $25,000 for berating the replacement officials.[27] On November 4, 2013, Del Rio was handed the head coaching duties and named interim head coach for several games when head coach John Fox was sidelined due to medical reasons.[28]

On January 14, 2015, Del Rio was hired to become the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders, replacing the fired Dennis Allen (who coincidentally had preceded him as the Broncos defensive coordinator) and interim head coach Tony Sparano.[29]

In 2016, Del Rio led the Raiders to a 12–4 record, with the team making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. They lost to the Texans in the wild card round.

On February 10, 2017, Del Rio signed a four-year contract extension.[30] Del Rio was fired after the Raiders' 30–10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2017 regular season finale, ending with a 6–10 record.[31]

In 2019, he was under consideration to become the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, but talks ultimately ended after new head coach Zac Taylor decided he was not a fit.[32]

On January 2, 2020, Del Rio was hired by the Washington Redskins as their defensive coordinator under head coach Ron Rivera.[33] Del Rio changed their defensive scheme from a 3-4, which the team had used for the past decade, to a 4-3.[34]