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Jack Del Rio, Jr. (born April 3, 1963 in Castro Valley, California) is a former American football player and is the current head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. more...

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Early life

Del Rio attended and played football for Hayward High School in Hayward, California.

College career

Del Rio was an All-American linebacker at the University of Southern California and was MVP of the 1985 Rose Bowl. Drafted by baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, Del Rio batted .340 while playing catcher on USC’s baseball team with Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson. In football, during his senior year, he earned consensus All-America honors as a senior and was runner-up for the Lombardi Award.

Del Rio's roommate at USC was Sean Salisbury.

Underscoring the rivalry between USC and UCLA, Del Rio, on December 12, 2006, 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 undergradute degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1990, while he was a player for the Kansas City Chiefs.

He is a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity.

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 (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.

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' defensive. 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. Del Rio was quoted as saying: "This wasn't our year, it was the Steelers'. Next year is ours."

Read more at Wikipedia.org