Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio was Fired. Congratulations!

I woke up late this morning as I normally do on Tuesdays following a boring Monday night game. I say boring because the Saints and Giants were scoring points so fast, you almost had to get out a calculator to keep up. An exciting game is when the Ravens and the Steelers play. Punch me in the mouth and I punch you back. Who is still standing in the end is the winner. That is the football that I have come to love over the years.

Flipping through the TV channels while my coffee brews is another of my morning rituals. Okay, I confess, it was only the sports channels I was interested in. I checked out the NFL channel halfway through Total Access. Knowing in 30 minutes I can watch the same program from the beginning I quickly flipped to ESPN's Mike and Mike in the morning with guest Chris Carter, who I consider to have the best hands of any wide receiver in the history of the NFL. It was in the middle of the conversation so I didn't really know what they were talking about. Then I noticed that annoying slide text bar on the bottom of the screen. I hate those things. It distracts from the programming and I truly believe they are only there so you don't notice how boring the programming is.

Reading the annoying slide bar, I learn that Jack Del Rio, the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been fired. For the average person, this doesn't come as a big surprise since the Jaguars are 3-8 on the season. From my eye, the one that can see nothing but sports, I see it a little differently.

Jack Del Rio is an excellent football coach and even if 3-8 seems like under-achieving, for this team, believe me, it is way over-achieving. Despite the 3-8 record, the Jags are 4th in the National Football League in total defense and also 4th passing yards against. Not so surprising if you know Jack.

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, which is awarded annually to the best college football lineman or linebacker . 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 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, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. He also played in the 1994 Pro Bowl.

Everyone had heard of Blaine Gabbert, the Jags number 1 draft choice, and Maurice Jones-Drew, who is one of the best running backs in football today. Can you name one other player off the top of your head who is on the Jaguars roster? No Cheating! I didn't think so. That's because they have no one of any interest. The owner is more interested in making a profit than putting a winning team on the field. What other reason can you think of that firing a coach in mid-season would be of any benefit? I can think of one.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been sold to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Forbes reported the sale to be worth $760 million. That's a lot of reasons.


The Washington Post, via Associated Press, reports, " The moves marked the most significant changes for the small-market franchise since its inception in 1993." This is another writers attempt to sensationalize a situation without checking the facts. The facts are, The Jacksonville Jaguars are not as small of a market it is made out to be. Jacksonville, Florida is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. Jacksonville is the most populous city proper in Florida and the eleventh most populous in the United States.

The 2011 NFL Salary Cap is set at $135 million dollars. The Jaguars salary for 2011 is $78 million dollars, 29th in the league out of 32 teams. The only teams spending less than the Jags are the Chief, Panthers and Buccaneers.

I think the writers were confusing small-market with low attendance. It is not so easy to put people in the seats when there isn't anything to see.

Del Rio's firing may not seem like it, but it was a favor to him. He will still be paid the more than $5 million dollars remaining on his contract. He will land on his feet and coach again in the NFL. I know a few places with a good roster who could use a change in leadership, (Philadelphia, San Diego, Minessota, New York Giants). Good luck Jack.