Jack Del Rio Taking the Hard Line Right Out the Door

Throughout his tenure as Jaguars coach, Jack Del Rio has never been one to deny his team the hardline approach. And in this, a critical season that will determine whether or not he keeps his job, he has hardly abstained. ↵↵Two weeks back, with the team teetering at 1-2, he ordered starting quarterback David Garrard to stop his regular Friday radio appearances, later telling reporters, “If you’re not studying film, you ought to be relaxing with the family. So, those are my thoughts. I conveyed them to him.”↵

↵↵Little steep, one might say, until one considers that a player’s family always provides critical tips on picking up the oncoming rush.↵

↵↵In keeping with the hardline approach, the coach abruptly benched surprising new offensive weapon Mike Sims-Walker immediately prior to the team’s 41-0 drubbing at the hands of the Seahawks. The receiver was disciplined because he “violated the team’s itinerary” during the weekend in Seattle, meaning presumably that he did something other than watched film and relaxed with his family. Add that in the last few weeks, similar punishments have been ladled out to linebackers Brian Iwuh and Quentin Groves for breaking team rules, and you have either a roster out of control or a coach exercising too firm a hand in disciplinary matters.↵

↵↵There’s no arguing that any one player, let alone Mike Sims-Walker playing, accounts for a 41-point deficit. But if the intention is to put the rest of the roster on notice that a lack of focus will lead to problems, it’s probably safe to say Del Rio’s going to need to find some new tactics.↵

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