Considering the Jacksonville Jaguars have not finished with a record above .500 since 2007 and are one of the NFL’s worst teams this year, it should come as no surprise that Jack Del Rio was fired this week. The news has been accompanied by plenty of buzz, however, likely because Del Rio has been the coach in Jacksonville for the last eight years. Not only that, but the way in which his release came about is particularly interesting.
According to CBSSports.com, Del Rio is rumored to have lost his drive once he received a fat contract extension in 2008 that would have kept him with the team through 2012. Jags owner Wayne Weaver is not the type who would fire a coach in the middle of a season, but Del Rio was reportedly showing up to work at 9 a.m. most days.
With the way we hear coaches and players talking about tedious preparation and endless hours in the film room, you can understand why the Jaguars grew tired of Del Rio. Showing up to work at 9 a.m. as a head football coach in the National Football League is insane. It may not seem that way in a world where a 9-5 job is fairly common, but coaching a professional football team is not your average job. If Del Rio really was strolling in that late, it’s no surprise the Jaguars have looked like one of the league’s most unprepared teams all season long. After all, they did struggle against the Colts. Perhaps watching more Curtis Painter film would have helped.
