The Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio after nine years as a 68-71 record.
They’re 18-57 since then, and even if the Raiders coach wasn’t going make a big deal of it, his players were going to make sure it was a special day for him.
According to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com Del Rio was given a game ball after the easy 33-16 win yesterday
“Jack said to focus on being a great teammate and having each other’s back,” Raiders cornerback David Amerson said. “With him coaching here before, we definitely wanted to have his back. We wanted to get him this ‘W,’ it was big for him and our team.”
The Jaguars grew frustrated with Del Rio topping out at seven or eight wins a year, but they haven’t won more than five in a season since he left. He wasn’t going to gloat, taking the high road yesterday instead.
“A lot of great memories here,” Del Rio said. “It was a great place to spend nine years raising the family and being blessed with the opportunity to lead the Jaguar franchise. I was very appreciative of that time. I met a lot of good folks here; a lot of good memories, a lot of good friends. It is good to come back here and get a good effort in this stadium.”
Of course, it’s easier to be gracious when you’re stomping your old team, and making them long for the days when they were actually interesting and somewhat relevant.
