Jack Del Rio and 49ers coach Mike Nolan have received permission from the league to wear suits and ties on the sidelines for this weeks game. It turns out that much like the "throwback" rule (Two Games per Season) the "Coaches in Sunday's Best" ruling is the same. It's too bad, of course, that the Jag's haven't been around long enough to have a true "throwback". Though, I'd be happy to flash back to 1993 and see this logo with the original grey and teal scheme. Useless trivia about that logo, Jaguar Motors and the Ford Motor Company went after the Jags in 94 and forced a change. Terms were good though as Wayne Weaver receives a new Jaguar every year and the company is the "official car" of the team.
I like the Suits though, I think it's classy. One of my favorite weekly reads is Paul Lukas at ESPN's Uni Watch. He reports that the suits will be designed by Reebok and feature some sort of logo. I'm thinking the foray into men's formal wear is a good idea. Imagine a nice three button suit, nice on the outside with your team's logo in the liner, I'd certainly wear one. Not that I'm anywhere important enough to need such things, but whatever.
Let's see, Pro Football Talk (scroll down, a lot) has it's usual batch of stories citing "insider knowledge". The first is that...
A league source tells us that there's a rumor on the NFL grapevine that coach Jack Del Rio is in "major league trouble" if the Jacksonville Jaguars fail to qualify for the 2006 playoffs.
Jacksonville currently is 5-4, including two losses to the otherwise 1-6 Houston Texans. Last year, the Jags were 12-4.
The team currently is in a three-way tie with the Chiefs and the Jets for the No. 6 seed in the AFC field. The Bengals are a game back at 4-5. Jacksonville holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Jets, and the Jaguars finish the regular season at Kansas City.
After several years of struggles to sell out their home stadium, the Jags' success in 2005 prompted a strong demand for tickets. But a reversal this season could quickly result in a return to the days of local blackouts.
The team's most recent stumble, a home defeat to Houston, apparently won't bring a premature end to David Garrard's tenure as the starting quarterback. Instead, Del Rio is taking aim at the team's receivers, who have been dropping more balls than a urologist with sweaty palms. (Yeah, we break that one out a couple of times a year.) Reggie Williams could end up losing playing time to Cortez Hankton, and Matt Jones might be a step or two away from the doghouse after two drops turned into two of Garrard's four interceptions.
Meanwhile, former starter Byron Leftwich got a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews on Monday. Team doctors reportedly told Leftwich that he won't be able to play again this season. Leftwich has said that he thinks he can play.
Our guess? Del Rio is hitching his wagon for the rest of the way to Garrard. And if Garrard doesn't deliver, Del Rio might be coaching linebackers somewhere in 2007, or possibly working as a defensive coordinator.
The Second report is that...
We continue to hear that Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio will be in serious trouble if the team doesn't get back to the playoffs in 2006. But we're also hearing that V.P. of player personnel James "Shack" Harris is not in hot water, regardless of the outcome this season.
Per a league source, the powers-that-be in Jacksonville (i.e., owner Wayne Weaver and right-hand man Paul Vance) believe that the team has done a good job of amassing talent. The problem is that the talent isn't translating into enough wins.
Del Rio is under contract through 2008, so if a decision is made to make a change after the season, Weaver will be required to eat two years of salary, minus any money that Del Rio might earn elsewhere as a coach.
I've not got too much to say here. I understand the pressures on Del Rio, and I've openly alluded to his job security in recent history. I've been thinking about what needs to happen on Monday night and I think this is a challenge week for Del Rio. He's got a problem with his passing game. He's got a ground game, a defense, and special teams, all that's missing is this one (albeit large) piece. If the Jags can pull out a W on Monday AND demonstrate that Del Rio can get into the heads of his over paid over drafted Wide Receivers, then I think he'll be all right. If the passing game is shot down and the game is lost, I dare say that Jack's Suit might get used again come February.
Shack, He'll be fine. Mind you, our first rouders have been questionable, but our 2-7's are stellar.
That's all for now
-C