Jack Del Rio

Jack Del Rio (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. Del Rio played both football and baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans, and then spent eleven years playing linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He retired from playing in 1996 and went into coaching, serving in a variety positions for several different NFL teams. In 2003 he was named head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a position he held until November 29 2011.

Early life
Del Rio was born in Castro Valley, California. He attended and played both baseball and football for Hayward High School in Hayward, California. He and former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu were teammates in both sports while there.

College career
Del Rio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team out of high school in 1981, but he opted instead to attend college. He enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he played both baseball and football for the USC Trojans. In football he was an All-American linebacker and was voted Most Valuable Player of the 1985 Rose Bowl. During his senior year he earned consensus All-America honors as a senior and was runner-up for the Lombardi Award. In baseball he batted .340 while playing catcher on a team that also included future Major League Baseball players Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson.

Del Rio's roommate at USC was former ESPN football analyst and former NFL and CFL quarterback Sean Salisbury.

Underscoring the UCLA–USC rivalry, on December 12, 2006 Del Rio appeared at a press conference wearing a UCLA basketball jersey after losing a bet with current Jaguars and ex-UCLA running back Maurice Jones-Drew. UCLA's football team had recorded one of the biggest upsets in school history by defeating USC the previous week. However, after acknowledging his loss in the bet, he removed the UCLA jersey, revealing a USC polo shirt underneath.

Del Rio earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1990, while he was a player for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Professional career
Del Rio was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round of the 1985 NFL Draft. His 11-year career was spent between the Saints (1985–1986), the Kansas City Chiefs (1987–1988), Dallas Cowboys it appeared in(1989–1991), and Minnesota Vikings (1992–1995). He played in the 1994 Pro Bowl. Signed by the Miami Dolphins before the 1996 season, Del Rio retired when he lost his job to rookie Zach Thomas. Del Rio notes retirement as one of the toughest things he's ever had to do.

Coaching career
Del Rio began his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints in 1997 as the Strength and Conditioning coach. In 1999, he accepted a position with the Baltimore Ravens as their linebackers coach. He is in part credited for the success of the Ravens' defense, particularly the 2000 Ravens' defense. After the 2001 season, he was named defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. In his first season as defensive coordinator, he led them to the second best defense in the league that season.

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. 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 as a wild card team; however, the season was ended with a 28–3 loss to the New England Patriots.

In 2007 Jacksonville cut quarterback Byron Leftwich in favor of David Garrard. The team went on to the playoffs, winning their first playoff game in years. On April 3, 2008, Del Rio's contract with the Jaguars was extended through the 2012 season.

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". Later that afternoon, he rebuffed USC officially, announcing that he would remain with the Jaguars at least through the duration of his current contract.

On November 29, 2011, Del Rio was fired as Jacksonville's head coach. He left with a regular season record of 69–73 and a 1–2 in two playoff appearances over nine years.

Keep Chopping Wood
"Keep Chopping Wood." It was intended to indicate how they were to slowly whittle away the huge obstacle in the way of improving the team. While most of the team was out for practice, punter Chris Hanson took a swing, missed the stump and seriously injured his non kicking foot. Hanson missed the remainder of the 2003 season, being replaced by Mark Royals.

Sideline attire
Del Rio became the second NFL head coach to wear a suit on the sidelines since 1993 during a November 20, 2006 regular season contest against the New York Giants, immediately following then San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan who had sported the look the previous day in a win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Del Rio's Jaguars won that game by a score of 26–10. Previously, a sponsorship deal between the NFL and Reebok prohibited coaches from wearing anything but Reebok clothing, but a series of events—including Nolan petitioning for permission to wear a suit and Reebok planning to unveil a formal line of clothing in 2007—led to the NFL adopting a rule that permits coaches to wear a suit two times a year. During the 2007 NFL season, both Del Rio and Nolan were given permission to wear a suit at all eight of their respective teams regular season home games..

Coaching tree
NFL head coaches under whom Jack Del Rio has served:
 * Mike Ditka, New Orleans Saints (1997–1998)
 * Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens (1999–2001)
 * John Fox, Carolina Panthers (2002)

Assistant coaches under Jack Del Rio who have became NFL head coaches:


 * Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons (2008–present)

Assistant coaches under Jack Del Rio who have became college head coaches:


 * Brian VanGorder, Georgia Southern (2006)
 * Tom Williams, Yale University (2009–present)

Awards and honors

 * 2010 NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards honoree.
 * 1994 Pro Bowl selection.
 * 1994 All-Pro selection.
 * Super Bowl XXXV champion as an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens.

Personal life
Del Rio and his wife, Linda, have three daughters, Lauren, Hope and Aubrey, and one son, Luke. He is the son of Cathy Dwalz and Jack Del Rio, Sr. Del Rio is a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity. In 2010, as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Del Rio appeared in a commercial to raise awareness for the spill.