04/24/24
November 29, 2011
Jaguars Fire Jack Del Rio, Team Sold: The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired head coach Jack Del Rio after nine seasons and announced the sale of the team to Illinois auto parts magnate Shahid Khan, who previously tried to buy the St. Louis Rams. Despite only winning one playoff game over that span, never winning a division title and not having a winning season since 2007, Del Rio was one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker takes over as interim head coach. "The Jaguars were better off jettisoning Del Rio now instead of putting the fan base through weeks of waiting for the ax to fall," writes Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette. Departing owner Wayne Weaver claimed that Khan will keep the team in Jacksonville, but said there's no guarantee in writing.
Getting rid of David Garrard when Manning was out and the division was truly up for grabs was such a bizarre move.
I wonder how good of a job this is considered by those in the know.
posted by bperk at 10:02 AM on November 29, 2011
Last season, the Jags were 8-5 and could have clinched the division by beating the Colts. They lost three straight. The year before, they were 7-5 and in playoff contention and lost four straight.
I don't think the job's got a good rep, because Weaver's cheap and the team has the smallest fan base in the NFL (which you wouldn't know by how loud the diehards are at EverBank Field). When they reached two AFC championship games under Tom Coughlin and had players like Mark Brunell, Tony Boselli, Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith, it didn't seem like a bad place to be.
It'll be interesting to see if they bring in a big name who can fill seats. It's about time Chucky returned from the coaching dead.
posted by rcade at 10:17 AM on November 29, 2011
ESPN and the NFL Network are reporting the team is in the process of being sold and they inked the GM to a new 3 year deal. Which pretty much ensures no big name coach will come to the team since he won't have control over player selection. Seems like a winning move; did the GM have naughty pics of Weaver?
posted by yerfatma at 11:23 AM on November 29, 2011
Based on what you're saying about his decision-making abilities, I'd guess the Chargers front office will be interested in him.
posted by LionIndex at 11:44 AM on November 29, 2011
It'll be interesting to see if they bring in a big name who can fill seats. It's about time Chucky returned from the coaching dead.
Wouldn't you rather have Cowher? Gruden kept TB on a rollercoaster. One year playoff caliber and then the next year terrible. Plus, he loved filling the roster with geezers.
posted by bperk at 12:03 PM on November 29, 2011
Wouldn't you rather have Cowher?
Absolutely. But getting Gruden would take him out of the broadcast booth.
posted by rcade at 12:16 PM on November 29, 2011
Taking one for the fans? Any way they could both coach the team? Otherwise, they should have a glare-off for the position.
posted by yerfatma at 12:41 PM on November 29, 2011
Del Rio was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL
There is no way that's true. That's a lie, and impossible. That's prepost...
Oh, snap. He actually was. Crap.
Marvin Lewis is now the leader. How did that happen?
Of course, if you'd have said that Ron Zook would outlast every other coach in the Big Ten except for Kirk Ferentz four years ago, I'd have thought you were smoking crack.
posted by Bonkers at 02:50 PM on November 29, 2011
Oh, snap. He actually was. Crap. Marvin Lewis is now the leader. How did that happen?
Somebody needs to work on their fact-checking. It was Jeff Fischer until this year. It's now Bill Belichick, who's been HC of NE since 2K.
posted by yerfatma at 03:24 PM on November 29, 2011
Oh, snap. He actually was. Crap. Marvin Lewis is now the leader. How did that happen?
Somebody needs to work on their fact-checking. It was Jeff Fischer until this year. It's now Bill Belichick, who's been HC of NE since 2K.
The part about Fischer is right, but the current HC with the longest tenure is Andy Reid (this is year 13) - but this might be his last?
posted by MrNix67 at 04:12 PM on November 29, 2011
How about Jeff Fisher getting offered the job? Do the Jax fans hate him too much?
posted by bperk at 04:57 PM on November 29, 2011
Somebody needs to work on their fact-checking.
One of those somebodies is ESPN, who stated this morning on SportsCenter that Marvin Lewis was now the longest-tenured coach. I feel kinda foolish that the Hoodie didn't come to mind at that point.
posted by tahoemoj at 05:06 PM on November 29, 2011
Well, since we've proven I don't do much initial research, allow me to give a mea culpa:
And what we're all interested in:
I would also add Mike Shanahan to this list, but I would expect him to just retire.
Any other upcoming Black Monday candidates to this list?
posted by Bonkers at 05:26 PM on November 29, 2011
the current HC with the longest tenure is Andy Reid
Ah, good point. I just saw it and thought, "Hey, BB has been around longer than that", without considering anyone else, even if they were all over my TV on Sunday while losing to the Pats.
posted by yerfatma at 07:39 PM on November 29, 2011
"With Jack [Del Rio], you never knew what you were getting. You don't know if you'll get a hard-ass one day, a buddy-buddy one day. You never really knew. ... At the end of the day, [Del Rio]'s not a head coach. He's a great defensive coach. But he's not a head coach." -- Fred Taylor
posted by rcade at 03:19 PM on November 30, 2011
This move was incredibly overdue.
Jack Del Rio is the first NFL coach to ever last nine seasons without winning a division. Owner Wayne Weaver's acceptance of mediocrity from his coach is especially galling when you consider the number of coordinators Del Rio fired during his tenure. He had a habit in the early years of axing them quickly to deflect criticism from himself. This meant that any coordinator with good prospects would've been stupid to come here.
That changed in recent years, and the Jags' defensive ranking has improved from 28th to fourth this season under Tucker. This is his first calling the plays.
Del Rio had a playoffs-or-else ultimatum over his head this year, which made his decision to dump David Garrard right before week one completely ridiculous. Garrard wouldn't have worked out anyway because of his herniated disc, but Del Rio didn't know that at the time.
He's a terrible, terrible coach, and I can only hope that he'll find work in the division.