Ranking 5 best head coaches in Jaguars history, where does Doug Pederson land?

No. 4 head coach in Jacksonville Jaguars history: Jack Del Rio

Mid? Maybe unimpressive? What's the best way to describe the Jaguars under Jack Del Rio? Probably 'good but not remarkable'. Sure, great moments were immortalized in NFL Media's Inside Training camp such as John Henderson getting slapped. But putting aside the team's meme potential, Jacksonville only made the playoffs twice during Del Rio's ninth-year stint.

On the other hand, Del Rio consistently put some pretty good defenses on the field, especially in the early 2000s. Players such as the aforementioned Henderson, Marcus Stroud, Rashean Mathis, Mike Patterson, Deon Grant, and Donovin Darius donned the Black and Teal during his tenure.

Del Rio's best season leading the Jags came in 2007. Besides going 11-5 that year, they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers twice in a season at Heinz Field, including one time in the playoffs. They're the only team in league history to pull off the feat and they did it again in 2017. Unfortunately, they proceeded to get crushed by the Patriots in the Divisional Round and that was the last winning season of the Del Rio era.

One thing that hindered Del Rio is that early in his tenure he still had playmakers such as running back Fred Taylor, wide receiver Jimmy Smith, and Keenan McCardell. The issue is that besides drafting Maurice Jones-Drew, they failed to eventually replace Smith and McCardell and replenish the roster.

In the end, Del Rio was given the boot in 2021. He left Jacksonville after coaching 139 games and a 68-71 record, making him the longest-tenured coach in team history, and that's an accomplishment worth praising.