Why Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio is Just Surviving By Skin of His Teeth

The signs are all there.

Last in passing offense. Second to last in scoring offense. A shoddy receiving corps. Missed opportunities and the big one, a 3-6 record with a rookie quarterback under center.

Jack Del Rio has been taking heat all season for the offensive woes of his Jacksonville Jaguars and now, with more than half the season behind him, it looks like the nine-year veteran coach will escape being fired before the end of the regular season.

But don't think it is a given he will retain his job just because the team has won two of its last three games. Del Rio is still on notice about the team's performance, and the seat he rests on is still warm.

It was supposed to be a season of promise, a season of new beginnings. A new defense and the future in sight. The defense, led by coordinator Mel Tucker, has held its end of the bargain. The running game, led by Maurice Jones-Drew, followed suit.

But the offense as a whole has let everyone down and the blame is shared by Del Rio and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

But Del Rio still plods along, looks at the positives of a 17-3 win over the winless Colts from last week and prepares to go to Cleveland, a team in a state of disarray itself.

This may very well be purgatory for the Jaguars, a state of confusion and a chance to make things right because opportunities for wins against Carolina, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Houston all escaped the team for one reason or another.

And you have to ask, "Why is this man still overseeing the day-to-day operations of this ballclub?"

The fact is that Wayne Weaver will not make a change—yet.

Weaver is the only team owner and has hired only two head coaches in his tenure with the NFL. He hired Boston College's Tom Coughlin, who had a good run with the team, led them to two AFC Championship Games and a 14-2 record in 2000. This was his team, and he ran it through fear and intimidation.

Coughlin was fired after the 2002 season.

In came a fiery new coach, a defensive coordinator from Carolina, who said the right things, looked the part and gave the town the sense he would win at any cost.

He has only one playoff win to his credit, and the teams he has coached have been anything but exciting. He coaches based on the experience of being an NFL player, which does not always work out with the younger generation.

Weaver is one of the most liked owners in the NFL, and it seems that his one Achilles' Heel is that he waits too long to make decisions and that includes firing coaches. There have been several assistants who have come through the doors of the Jaguars' facilities, but the head man has been in place for almost a decade, and there has been no real return on Weaver's investment.

But with a rookie quarterback, a few injuries (not that that is an excuse) and the release of longtime starter and fan favorite David Garrard, this team was set up for failure from the start. The only way to fix that is to clean house and start over.

But the question is, will Weaver do that?

While he thinks about it, Del Rio is still here. And the offense and the spirit of the fanbase need improvement. The question is, will it eventually happen?