Ron Rivera‘s staff is already starting to take shape. On Wednesday, the Redskins agreed to hire Jack Del Rio as their defensive coordinator (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 
Del Rio, 56, was either a head coach or defensive coordinator in every NFL season from 2002-17. However, he’s been out of coaching since the end of the 2017 season, when he was canned as the Raiders’ head coach.
JDR’s Raiders posted a 12-4 record in 2016 en route to their first playoff berth in 14 years, but that campaign was sandwiched by two losing seasons. All in all, he went 25-23 as the Raiders’ HC and his defenses were spotty at best.
Before all of that, he was responsible for the Broncos’ defense from 2012-2014, a run that included two top 5 finishes. He also served as the Jaguars’ head coach for nine years. Del Rio took the Jaguars to the playoffs twice, including a 2007 season in which they toppled the Steelers in the playoffs before running into the Patriots in the divisional round.
JDR will have his work cut out for him in D.C. Last year, the Redskins finished 27th in points allowed and yards. On the plus side, they have lots young talent and some cap room to work with as they retool the defense.
Used to catch Randy Johnson’s balls, now he will catch Dan Snyder’s.
What does Randy Johnson have to do with Del Rio?
Del Rio was a catcher on the USC baseball team
I never knew that, that’s a cool fact
He is catching balls?
Why you interested?
Just so he doesn’t put a stump and axe in the locker room. His kicker in Jacksonville about chopped his foot off.
Lmao is he going to put another axe in the clubhouse
Ironic. Last time he coached a game in Washington, his raiders self imploded so badly it ruined the season.
Too soon
I love the hire. As a 9ers fan I pray we don’t lose Armstead but if we do I can see the Redskins getting him and he would help them a lot. They love to snag our players lol. But seriously, I can see that, makes sense for them but I really hope we keep him.
Fantastic hire. With Ron Rivera and Jack del Rio in charge, the Redskins have gone from one of the worst coaching staffs in football (Jay Gruden/Greg Manusky) to one of the best.
Both Rivera and del Rio have the authority of guys who walked their talk as players and have done so as coaches. Very optimistic about next season, as there is a lot of talent on the roster. At QB, Haskins should be ready to play at least .500 ball next year before breaking out in 2021. Having Alex Smith in as player-coach should make a huge difference to Haskins game (worked wonders for Patrick Mahomes who spent a year working beside Alex Smith before winning MVP in his second season).
Finally the endless IR carousel should come to an end with Rivera/del Rio in charge and new trainers. There was something infernally wrong with conditioning and medical staff under Jay Gruden.