Jaguars Fire Jack Del Rio, Mel Tucker Becomes Interim Coach

For the fourth consecutive year the Jacksonville Jaguars will miss the playoffs. In order to turn things around, the Jaguars decided today to fire head coach Jack Del Rio. Mel Tucker, the defensive coordinator, will serve as the interim head coach for the remaining five games of the NFL season.

Jack Del Rio has been the head coach of the Jaguars for the last nine years. In 2007, he led the Jaguars to the playoffs after going 11-5 in the regular season. Del Rio and the Jaguars fell to 3-8 last Sunday and are mathematically out of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said:

“I told Jack that I appreciated the nine years that he served the team, but I told Jack that we deserved better. We’ve been very average over the last couple of years.”

Reuters reports that New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Andy Reid, and Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis are the only current NFL coaches, along with Del Rio, who have been with their teams for more than 8 seasons.

Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew said:

“It’s a sad day. He’s the guy that gave me my shot to play in this league. A lot of guys were upset when they heard about it this morning. He’s a players’ coach. There was no lack of effort out there when we were playing, just a lack of execution.”

Jack Del Rio will end his career with the Jaguars just below .500. After eight seasons and 11 games, Del Rio finishes his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars at 68-71.

Do you think the Jaguars are making the right move by firing Jack Del Rio?