For the first part of his coaching career, Jack Del Rio was known as the head coach who reached success with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Del Rio’s leadership took the Jaguars to the playoffs twice in his tenure with the team, a run that included the team’s last playoff win in 2007. The only postseason success for the Jaguars since 1999 as after firing Del Rio, things have yet to be as good as they were during JDR’s time with the franchise.
Del Rio himself has bounced back from his firing by the Jaguars after his early success turned into mediocrity in his final seasons with the team before his dismissal. The defensive-minded head coach parlayed his time in Jacksonville into a role with the Denver Broncos, where he went to the Super Bowl as the team’s defensive coordinator before he headed for a second head coaching opportunity. This time with his childhood team as the Bay Area native landed a dream job with the Oakland Raiders in 2015.
Tasked with the role of head coach for the Raiders young rebuild, Del Rio has taken a team filled with young stars and smart free agency splurges into a playoff contender in just his second season. Del Rio’s presence has followed the same initial early success he found with the Jaguars. The Raiders start to 2016 has the team on a path to their first postseason trip since 2002, and the Raider Nation has already accepted their new head coach as the right man to lead them to glory. All while the Jaguars have struggled without Del Rio, languishing in the weak AFC South with no playoff appearances themselves since the two sides parted ways in 2011.
On Sunday, Del Rio returned to Jacksonville for his first game against his former team as a head coach. The return served as a big moment for the coach, who needed a win over the Jaguars to move to 5-2 and remain near the top of the AFC standings. Implications that put more than just bragging rights on the line for Del Rio’s return with the Raiders in need of a big road win after their Week 6 loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Del Rio would have the last laugh in Jacksonville on Sunday with a win that continued the Raiders progression from an exciting, young team into a squad that could make a run this season. The Raiders 33-16 win was a clear statement from a team that is still undefeated on the road while it also served as redemption for their head coach. Del Rio’s journey from Jacksonville to Denver to Oakland received plenty of vindication on a day where the Raiders were a clear cut above the Jaguars despite the two teams having similar rebuilding paths in recent years.
Raiders 33, Jaguars 16
Raiders: 5-2 is best 7-game start since 2001
Raiders: 4-0 on road for 1st time since 2000 pic.twitter.com/PYELTLCY7p— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 23, 2016
While the Jaguars have failed to thrive with early draft picks and ample cap space in a weaker division, Del Rio’s Raiders have used their resources to build something exciting despite being up against the toughest division in football in the AFC West. General manager Reggie McKenzie and Mark Davis’ decision to hire Del Rio has been a big reason for their newfound success after a slow rebuild.
“At the end of the day, what you really want is to come out with a big victory."
Check out @coachdelrio in the locker room postgame: https://t.co/lJ52HjomtP
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 23, 2016
Del Rio has taken a top quarterback prospect in Derek Carr and two first round stars on both sides of the football in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper and has built himself a team that demands attention. At 5-2, the young Raiders would have a bye in the AFC if the playoffs started today and seem to have unstoppable momentum at the moment. All things few would have expected when the Jaguars fired Del Rio after he lost his magic touch in Jacksonville.
The Raiders do have some flaws, namely their high yardage allowed numbers over the first half of the season that deserves blame towards their defensive specialist head coach. However, after years of losing seasons in the last decade and a half, the Raiders are a completely different franchise since Del Rio has taken over the reins. That turnaround deserves credit as Del Rio has had a career renaissance since he left Jacksonville for two high profile jobs in the AFC West.
Right now, it is a safe bet to assume the Jaguars would rather have Del Rio in charge instead of the beleaguered Gus Bradley with their former head coach on the rise while their team continues to struggle with a perpetual rebuild. Time changes everything, but Del Rio is the one who is better off with a new lease on his head coaching career in a situation that couldn’t be better. If the Raiders keep their winning ways intact for the rest of the season, it will be hard to view Del Rio as the coach who failed in Jacksonville despite early playoff success. Few coaches get second chances, but for Del Rio the second opportunity is the right one for a Bay Area product who is living a dream as the head coach of the area’s most iconic team.
