.jpg) Del Rio in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Paris Musketeers | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1963-04-04)April 4, 1963 (age 61) Castro Valley, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 246 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Hayward (Hayward, California) | ||||||||||||
| College: | USC (1981–1984) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1985: 3rd round, 68th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||
| Regular season: | 93–94 (.497) | ||||||||||||
| Postseason: | 1–3 (.250) | ||||||||||||
| Career: | 94–97 (.492) | ||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||
Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American professionalfootball coach and formerlinebacker who is the head coach of theParis Musketeers of theEuropean League of Football (ELF). He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans from 1981 to 1984 and was selected by theNew Orleans Saints in the third round of the1985 NFL draft. He also played for the NFL'sKansas City Chiefs,Dallas Cowboys,Minnesota Vikings, andMiami Dolphins before retiring in 1996.
Del Rio began his coaching career as an assistant with the Saints in 1997. He then joined theBaltimore Ravens as a linebacker coach in 1999, where he was a part of theirSuper Bowl XXXV winning team that beat theNew York Giants. Following a single-season stint asCarolina Panthers defensive coordinator, Del Rio became head coach of theJacksonville Jaguars in 2003. He compiled a 68–71 record and two playoff appearances with them before being dismissed following the 2011 season.
Del Rio served asDenver Broncos defensive coordinator for the next three seasons before becoming head coach of theOakland Raiders in 2015. He compiled a 25–23 record with the Raiders before being fired after the 2017 season. He spent the next two years working as an NFL analyst forESPN and as thedefensive coordinator of theWashington Commanders from 2020 until being dismissed midway through the 2023 season.
Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. was born inCastro Valley, California, to big bandleader Jack Del Rio Sr., who was ofSpanish descent, and anItalian-American mother. Famed singerPeggy Lee was briefly Del Rio's stepmother after having married Jack Sr.[1] Del Rio attendedHayward High School inHayward, California, where he developed into a notable three-sport athlete, earning all-state honors in football,baseball, andbasketball.[2]
In football, Del Rio helped his team win a North Coast Section 2A Championship. In baseball, although he was the startingcatcher, in one game Jack was used as a pitcher and struck out 16 in a playoff game against Mission San Jose-Fremont. Del Rio and futureSeattle Mariners managerDon Wakamatsu were teammates in baseball and football.[3]
Del Rio was selected out of high school by theToronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round (550th overall) of the1981 MLB Draft,[4] but opted instead to accept a scholarship from theUniversity of Southern California to play both football and baseball.[5] In baseball, Del Rio was as a two-year starter atcatcher on a team that also included futureMajor League Baseball playersMark McGwire andRandy Johnson,[5] as well as future baseball executiveDamon Oppenheimer.
Del Rio was a four-year starter in football. As a junior, he made the third-team1983All-American team. As a senior, Del Rio earned consensusAll-American honors, was a runner-up for theLombardi Award given to the nation's best lineman or linebacker, and was named along withquarterback Tim Greenco-MVP of theRose Bowl. He finished his college career with 340 tackles, including 58 tackles for loss. Del Rio was named to the second-teamAll-Pac-10 in1984, the first time in his college career he did not make first-team.
In 2015, Del Rio was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.[6]
Del Rio was selected by theNew Orleans Saints in the third round (68th overall) of the1985 NFL draft.[7][8] He was also selected by theLos Angeles Express in the1985 USFL Territorial Draft. As a rookie, Jack started nine games atright inside linebacker, tied a franchise record with five fumble recoveries (including one returned for a 22-yardtouchdown) and earned NFL All-rookie honors. Del Rio also collected 68 tackles, five passes defensed and three forced fumbles. In1986, Del Rio lost his starting position toAlvin Toles after the season opener and recorded only 20 tackles during the season.
In August 1987, Del Rio was traded to theKansas 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 atright outside linebacker, tallying 45 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
That season theNFL players went on strike in September, after week two. Throughout this period of time, Del Rio and teammates picketed outside ofArrowhead Stadium and were vigilantly watching for replacement players attempting to enter the facility. He mistakenly mistook former Chiefs wide receiverOtis 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. Taylor later pressed charges and the two eventually settled out of court.[10]
Del Rio started ten games at leftoutside linebacker in1988, registering 77 tackles, one sack, and one pass defensed. He was released on August 29, 1989.[11]
Del Rio earned an undergraduate degree inpolitical science from theUniversity of Kansas while he was a player for theKansas City Chiefs.[12]
On August 30, 1989, Del Rio was claimed off waivers by theDallas Cowboys.[13] He was named the starter atstrongside linebacker in the fifth game against theGreen Bay Packers, where he suffered a bruised calf that forced him to miss the next two games. Del Rio started twelve contests atstrongside linebacker, while sharing the position withDavid 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-yardtouchdown) and one pass defensed.
The next year, Del Rio started all sixteen games atstrongside linebacker, making 104 tackles (third on the team), 1.5 sacks, four quarterback pressures and two passes defensed. In1991, Del Rio replacedEugene Lockhart as the starter atmiddle linebacker, while leading the team with 130 total tackles, 53 assists and 77 solo tackles.[14]
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 players like Del Rio,Ken Norton Jr.,Darrin Smith,Dixon Edwards,Robert Jones, andRandall Godfrey to leave via free agency.[15]
On March 4, 1992, Del Rio signed with theMinnesota Vikings as a free agent. He led the team in tackles for three consecutive years and was selected to the1995 Pro Bowl.[16][17] In 1995, Del Rio suffered a knee injury in a game against theChicago Bears and only played one more game that season, which would prove to be the last of his career.
On June 2, 1996, Del Rio signed a one-year contract with theMiami Dolphins, reuniting him with former Cowboys head coachJimmy Johnson.[18] On August 4, he was released after being passed on the depth chart by rookieZach Thomas.[19] Del Rio finished his career with 160 game appearances (128 starts), 1,005 tackles, 13 sacks, and 13 interceptions.[20][a]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 1985 | NO | 16 | 9 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 1986 | NO | 16 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | KC | 10 | 7 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | KC | 15 | 10 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1989 | DAL | 14 | 12 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1990 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 104 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 153 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 92 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1993 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 169 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 129 | 86 | 43 | 2.0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995 | MIN | 9 | 9 | 53 | 32 | 21 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total[20] | 160 | 128 | 1,005 | 118 | 64 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 | 128 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 2 | |
Del Rio was hired byNew Orleans Saints head coachMike Ditka as the team's strength and conditioning coach in 1997, moving to linebacker coach the next year. In 1999, he took the same job with theBaltimore Ravens. Del Rio is, in part, credited for the success of the Ravens' Super Bowl-winning defense, particularly in the 2000 season. After the 2001 season, he was nameddefensive coordinator of theCarolina Panthers and in his first season, in 2002, Del Rio led them to the second ranked defense in the league by total yards.
In 2003, Del Rio became the second head coach of theJacksonville Jaguars followingTom 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 theNew 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, punterChris Hanson followed suit and seriously wounded his non-kicking foot. Hanson missed the remainder of the 2003 season, being replaced byMark Royals.[23]
After missing the playoffs in 2006, Jacksonville cut quarterbackByron Leftwich in favor ofDavid Garrard. The team returned to the playoffs in 2007 winning their first playoff game since 1999.[24] On April 3, 2008, Del Rio's contract with the Jaguars was extended through the 2012 season.[25]
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".[26] Later that afternoon, he rebuffed USC officially, announcing that he would remain with the Jaguars at least through the duration of his current contract.[27]
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. From his years with the Jaguars, Del Rio holds the NFL record for the longest tenure of any head coach to have never won a division title.[24]
On January 27, 2012, Del Rio was hired as the new defensive coordinator of theDenver Broncos. In Week 2, Del Rio was fined $25,000 for berating the replacement officials.[28] On November 4,2013, Del Rio was handed the head coaching duties and named interim head coach for several games when head coachJohn Fox was sidelined for medical reasons.[29]
On January 14, 2015, Del Rio was hired to become the new head coach of theOakland Raiders, replacing the firedDennis Allen (who coincidentally had preceded him as the Broncos defensive coordinator) and interim head coachTony Sparano.[30]
In2016, Del Rio led the Raiders to a 12–4 record, with the team making the playoffs for the first time since2002. They lost to theHouston Texans in the wild card round.
On February 10, 2017, Del Rio signed a four-year contract extension.[31] Del Rio was fired after the Raiders' 30–10 loss to theLos Angeles Chargers in the 2017 regular season finale, ending with a 6–10 record.[32]
In 2019, he was under consideration to become the defensive coordinator of theCincinnati Bengals, but talks ultimately ended after new head coachZac Taylor decided he was not a fit.[33]
On January 2, 2020, Del Rio was hired by theWashington Football Team to serve as their defensive coordinator under head coachRon Rivera.[34] Del Rio changed their defensive scheme from a3-4, which the team had used for the past decade, to a4-3.[35]
In June 2022, Del Rio made a controversial comment on his personalTwitter account where he referred theCapitol attack as a "dust up" and compared the storming of the Capitol to overturn official election results to thecivil unrest that occurred during some of the 2020George Floyd protests.[36] In response to his comments the Washington Commanders fined Del Rio for $100,000 along with head coachRon Rivera publicly stating Del Rio's views are not a reflection of the team.[37] Del Rio was fired in November 2023 following a 45–10 loss to theDallas Cowboys onThanksgiving, in which the team had allowed the most points in the NFL by that point in the season.[38]
On August 29, 2024, Del Rio was hired by theWisconsin Badgers as a senior adviser to head football coachLuke Fickell.[39] He resigned on November 11, 2024, after being arrested days prior for hitting a street sign and breaking a fence inMadison, Wisconsin, while operating a car impaired.[40]
On January 27, 2025, Del Rio was hired as the head coach and defensive coordinator for theParis Musketeers of theEuropean League of Football (ELF).[41]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win% | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| JAX | 2003 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3rd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2004 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2005 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in AFC South | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toNew England Patriots inAFC Wild Card Game |
| JAX | 2006 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2007 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC South | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toNew England Patriots inAFC Divisional Game |
| JAX | 2008 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 4th in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2009 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2010 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| JAX | 2011 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | Fired | — | — | — | — |
| JAX total | 68 | 71 | 0 | .489 | 1 | 2 | .333 | — | ||
| OAK | 2015 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in AFC West | — | — | — | — |
| OAK | 2016 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toHouston Texans inAFC Wild Card Game |
| OAK | 2017 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in AFC West | — | — | — | — |
| OAK total | 25 | 23 | 0 | .521 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | ||
| Total | 93 | 94 | 0 | .497 | 1 | 3 | .250 | — | ||
After he was drafted to play for the New Orleans Saints, Del Rio married his wife Linda Del Rio.[44]The couple have four children: Lauren, Hope, Aubrey Jean, andLuke,[44]who played quarterback for theFlorida Gators in the mid-2010s and is an offensive analyst for theWashington Huskies.[45]
In 2019, Del Rio worked as an analyst forESPN.[46]
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