Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio , Jr . ( born April 4 , 1963 ) is an American football coach , a former player , and is currently defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . Del Rio played both football and baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans , and then spent eleven years playing linebacker in the National Football League ( NFL ) . He retired from playing in 1996 and went into coaching , serving in a variety of positions for several different NFL teams . In 2003 , he was named head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars , a position he held until November 29 , 2011 . In that capacity he set the NFL record for the longest tenure of any coach without winning a division championship — over eight years . Early life . Del Rio was born in Castro Valley , California . His father is Mexican American and his mother is of Italian ancestry . He attended and played basketball , baseball and football for Hayward High School in Hayward , California . He and former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu were teammates in baseball and football while there . He was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1981 amateur baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays , but did not sign . Playing career . College career . Del Rio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team out of high school in 1981 , but he opted instead to attend college . He enrolled at the University of Southern California , where he played both baseball and football for the USC Trojans . In football he was an All - America n linebacker and was voted Most Valuable Player of the 1985 Rose Bowl . During his senior year he earned consensus All - America honors as a senior and was runner - up for the Lombardi Award . In baseball he batted . 340 while playing catcher on a team that also included future Major League Baseball players Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson . Del Rio ' s roommate at USC was former ESPN football analyst and former NFL and CFL quarterback Sean Salisbury . Underscoring the UCLA – USC rivalry , on December 12 , 2006 Del Rio appeared at a press conference wearing a UCLA basketball jersey after losing a bet with current Jaguars and ex - UCLA running back Maurice Jones - Drew . UCLA ' s football team had recorded one of the biggest upsets in school history by defeating USC the previous week . However , after acknowledging his loss in the bet , he removed the UCLA jersey , revealing a USC polo shirt underneath . Del Rio earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1990 , while he was a player for the Kansas City Chiefs . Professional career . Del Rio was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round of the 1985 NFL Draft . His 11 - year career was spent between the Saints ( 1985 – 1986 ) , the Kansas City Chiefs ( 1987 – 1988 ) , Dallas Cowboys ( 1989 – 1991 ) , and Minnesota Vikings ( 1992 – 1995 ) who he represented at the 1994 Pro Bowl . Signed by the Miami Dolphins before the 1996 season , Del Rio retired when he lost his job to rookie Zach Thomas . Del Rio notes retirement as one of the toughest things he ' s ever had to do . Coaching career . Del Rio began his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints in 1997 , hired by head coach Mike Ditka as the strength and conditioning coach . In 1999 , he accepted a position with the Baltimore Ravens as the linebackers ' coach . He is in part credited for the success of the Ravens ' defense , particularly in the 2000 season . After the 2001 season , he was named defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers and in his first season , in 2002 , he led them to the second best defense in the league . In 2003 , Del Rio became the second head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars following Tom Coughlin ' s dismissal . In his first season , he led the team to a 5 – 11 record . That year , Jacksonville finished the season with the second - ranked rush defense and sixth best overall defense , having ranked 25th and 20th in those two categories , respectively , the year prior . In 2004 , the Jaguars narrowly missed the playoffs with a 9 – 7 record , the first winning record in five seasons . The following season , the team made the playoffs as a wild card ; however , the season was ended with a 28 – 3 loss to the New England Patriots . In 2007 Jacksonville cut quarterback Byron Leftwich in favor of David Garrard . The team went on to the playoffs , winning their first playoff game in years . On April 3 , 2008 , Del Rio ' s contract with the Jaguars was extended through the 2012 season . On January 11 , 2010 , Del Rio was offered the head coaching job at USC , his alma mater . The next day he denied receiving an offer from USC , stating that the offer was " manufactured " . Later that afternoon , he rebuffed USC officially , announcing that he would remain with the Jaguars at least through the duration of his current contract . On November 29 , 2011 , Del Rio was fired as Jacksonville ' s head coach . He left with a regular season record of 68 – 71 and a 1 – 2 record in two playoff appearances over his nine years . On January 27 , 2012 , Del Rio was hired as the new defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos . In week two , Del Rio was fined $ 25 , 000 for berating the replacement officials . On November 4 , 2013 , Del Rio was handed the head coaching duties , and was named interim head coach , as head coach John Fox was sidelined due to medical reasons . " Keep chopping wood " . The mantra " Keep chopping wood " , introduced by Del Rio during the 2003 season , was intended to indicate how the team would slowly whittle away the huge obstacles in front of them . Del Rio placed a wooden stump and axe in the Jaguars ' locker room as a symbol of his rallying cry . After his teammates had been taking swings at the wood with the axe , Punter Chris Hanson followed suit and seriously wounded his non - kicking foot . Hanson missed the remainder of the 2003 season , being replaced by Mark Royals . Sideline attire . Del Rio became the second NFL head coach to wear a suit on the sidelines since 1993 during a November 20 , 2006 regular season contest against the New York Giants , immediately following then San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan who had sported the look the previous day in a win over the Seattle Seahawks . Del Rio ' s Jaguars won that game by a score of 26 – 10 . Previously , a sponsorship deal between the NFL and Reebok prohibited coaches from wearing anything but Reebok clothing , but a series of events — including Nolan petitioning for permission to wear a suit and Reebok planning to unveil a formal line of clothing in 2007 — led to the NFL adopting a rule that permits coaches to wear a suit twice a year . During the 2007 NFL season , both Del Rio and Nolan were given permission to wear a suit at all eight of their respective teams regular season home games . Since his firing as Jaguars coach , however , he no longer wears a suit and is seen simply wearing team - issued apparel in his subsequent coaching jobs . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Jack Del Rio has served : Assistant coaches under Jack Del Rio who have become NFL head coaches : Assistant coaches under Jack Del Rio who have become college head coaches :