Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is passing the buck once again.
Last week, when asked about the reasons behind Jacksonville’s late playcalling, Del Rio said he didn’t know. You would have to ask the offensive coordinator.
This week, Del Rio was asked why the team didn’t take a timeout before their final fourth down play. Luke McCown rushed to the line of scrimmage and threw an incompletion with 1:16 left to go. Del Rio’s answer was strikingly similar to last week.
“I asked [offensive coordinator] Dirk [Koetter] do you want a timeout there and he said no. That’s why,” Del Rio said after the game.
We know Del Rio is just being honest here, but it’s baffling that he doesn’t understand how it sounds.
The head coach decides what’s best for the team, especially when to use timeouts. Even if Koetter didn’t want a timeout, it makes sense for Del Rio to say “we” decided not to take the timeout rather than put the ultimately failed decision on Koetter. Del Rio is the one that should ultimately be making the decision.
If it seems like we’re picking on Del Rio, ask yourself a question: Would any other head coach in the NFL say that critical late-game decisions on timeouts were made by someone else?