About a week ago, Denver contacted Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter. They wanted to bring him in for an interview. John Elway thought that because of the job Koetter did fixing the Jaguars offense, that he might be a good pick for the next head coach of the broncos. About the same time, Mel Tucker's name came up in relation to openings at defensive coordinator for San Diego and Dallas. Being a 3-4 guru, it was thought that Tucker would be a good fit for those teams. Flash forward to a week later, and both men are still here with Jack Del Rio and the Jaguars. Wayne Weaver wanted his coaching staff intact and he kept it that way. Coincidence? I think not.
Now, I think Wayne Weaver is one of the better Owners out there. He has, throughout his career, attempted to make the Jaguars a "hometown" sort of organization. He has only fired one head coach in 16 years, so as to try to maintain a sense of ownership for the city. He established a "We are the Jaguars and this is our coach" mentality which some people don't like, but I respect. Weaver has been championing this city and the Jaguars franchise since its inception, so when he said he wanted the full staff back for another try, he was going to have the whole staff back.
Mel Tucker has not had much to work with in his defensive players over the last few years. But in watching the games, I see a defense that has held its own in spite of its lack of talent. For continuity's sake, Weaver wanted to keep Tucker in Jacksonville. So, a few days after news breaks that Tucker was being seriously considered by other teams for a DC job, he gets a new deal. Del Rio is only on the hook for one more year. Koetter is only under contract for one more year. Why would Weaver give Tucker a new contract? Because he is a man of his word. He wants the exact same coaching staff he had for 2010 in 2011, and keeping Mel Tucker required giving him a deal.
As football fans, I think it's easy to assume that the owner is just the guy who owns the team. ESPN doesn't talk about the owner unless he's running a team into the ground. Still, we as Jaguars fans have an owner who is a man of his word. An owner who promised to bring his staff back for one more year and did so. An owner who genuinely wants his team to be successful, and doesn't want to fire anyone. Let's face it, the average team would have fired Del Rio two years ago. After a collapse like 2008 when the team was thought to be at its peak, everybody's head would roll, but Weaver didn't fire Del Rio. He's allowing Jack to rebuild the team, and given that the team finished at 8-8 in year two, the rebuilding has so far been a success. Give Weaver some credit for doing what he thinks needs to be done.