Oakland Raiders: Jack Del Rio Headlines Group of Interviewees

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Dec 14, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio during the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Success and Failure in Jacksonville

Of course that three game stretch was not Jack Del Rio’s first go-round as an NFL head coach. After a solid 12-year career as an NFL linebacker for various teams (he was an All-Pro selection for Minnesota in 1994), Del Rio spent five years as an assistant coach, including stops with the 2000 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens (as a linebackers coach, working with Ray Lewis) and a year as defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers (they finished 2nd in total defense that season). In 2003, he was hired as the second head coach in Jacksonville Jaguars history, succeeding Tom Coughlin, who had led the team to astounding success in the 1990’s but had posted three consecutive losing seasons to start the new millennium.

Del Rio took over a very flawed team, and replaced the aging Mark Brunell with rookie Byron Leftwich early in the year. While he helped the team’s defense improve from 20th in 2002 to 6th in 2003, the team finished 5-11 in 2003, the second-worst record in franchise history (behind the 4-12 mark in the expansion franchise’s first year).

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Under Del Rio’s leadership, the still-flawed Jaguars improved to 9-7 in 2004, behind the league’s 7th-ranked scoring defense. Del Rio fired offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave that offseason, replacing him with Carl Smith, who re-oriented the offense toward a run game that featured both Fred Taylor and fullback Greg Jones. The team responded, going 12-4 and getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The defense finished sixth in both scoring and yards allowed while the offense finished in the top half, despite injuries to both Byron Leftwich and Fred Taylor. The season ended after a first-round loss at New England.

The Jaguars went a disappointing 8-8 in 2006, despite finishing in the top 10 in overall offense, scoring offense, overall defense and scoring defense, and despite Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew combining for over 2,000 yards rushing. Quarterback Byron Leftwich had season-ending ankle surgery after the sixth game of the season, and David Garrard struggled down the stretch, losing the last three in a row.

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