Jack Del Rio is ‘Plan B’ if Ron Rivera needs time off from Washington Football Team
Jack Del Rio will step in for Ron Rivera if needed, per reports.
On Thursday night, the Washington Football Team was rocked by the news that their head coach Ron Rivera had been diagnosed with cancer. The team’s first-year head coach confirmed that the cancer is “very treatable and curable” via ESPN’s Adam Schefter and he does plan on coaching for the whole 2020 season.
But just in case Rivera can’t do that and needs some time off, Washington has a Plan B in place. And it’s a pretty good one.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, if Washington does need to go to that Plan B, it would be defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who was over a decade of head coaching experience at the NFL level.
The hope for Washington coach Ron Rivera is to coach — uninterrupted — thru the 2020 season as he receives treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. If he has to go to Plan B, I’m told DC Jack Del Rio would assume head coach duties. Del Rio has more than a decade of HC experience.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 21, 2020
This is hardly a surprise. Del Rio is among the most experienced coaches on the Washington staff. He played 11 seasons in the NFL and has been coaching since 1997. He took the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders to the playoffs three times in 12 years as a head coach and posted a 93-94 record in those stops. That record may not look impressive on its own, but compared to other recent coaches of those franchises, his .500 record is pretty good overall.
And beyond his decent performance in that arena, Del Rio has been a rock-solid defensive coordinator. He nine defenses rank top 10 in scoring or yards allowed. That’s why his Jaguars and Raiders teams found success when he was a head coach, and he was a big part of Denver’s defensive success that eventually led them to a Super Bowl.
While it may be preferable to have Del Rio focus solely on the defensive side of the ball, he can surely be trusted as an interim head coach if needed. And knowing that it would only be a temporary role, he would just be in charge of keeping things business as usual for the team while Rivera is on the mend.
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Hopefully, Rivera won’t have to miss any time as he makes his recovery. But the first thing on the coach’s mind at this point should be to make sure that he can get and stay healthy. If he needs to take time to do that, Washington has a solid option to fill in for him. They can absolutely get by with Del Rio, if needed. He’s an excellent Plan B and Washington is lucky to have him.