The Washington Commanders Are Making a Masssive Mistake Firing Jack Del Rio

After getting their doors blown off in a 10-45 BEATDOWN to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in front of everyone’s grandmas, the Washington Commanders have fired their defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio.

A shakeup in Washington:#Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has been fired following another crushing loss, sources say, this time to the #Cowboys.

Ron Rivera presumably will call the D now. pic.twitter.com/dz991tj4P2

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 24, 2023

Why would Washington Fire Jack Del Rio right now?

The Commanders have given up the most points in the NFL including letting a Justin Fields-led Chicago Bears team drop 40 on them, Tommy DeVito—a third-string QB who looks like would get into a screaming match with Pauly D and Ronnie at the local Jersey Shore dive bar—dropping 31 on them last week and then turning Dak Prescott into the MVP on Thanksgiving Day. You never want your opponent to become an awards favorite the day after they play against you.

Here’s what Dak Prescott did against this defense:

331 yards
22-for-32
4 touchdowns
0 interceptions
142.1 passer rating
not sacked once

The Commanders made Dak Prescott look like Brett Favre when the Vicodin hits. This defense was playing like they had already finished their Thanksgiving meals and the tryptophan had them in a headlock.

Washington is 0-5 in the division.

Those divisional games are when even the worst teams in the league rise up and steal a W from their rival. The Commanders have back-to-back embarrassing divisional losses.

This team has allowed a league-high 49 pass plays of 20 or more yards.

They stink.

Where did Jack Del Rio go wrong?

Jack Del Rio had an opportunity to seize power in Washington coming into the year.

Ron Rivera snored through the 2022 season. They finished 8-8-1 and they had the opportunity to make the postseason if only Ron Rivera was aware of it.

Everyone knew Rivera was on his final legs in DC. With Eric Bieniemy coming in as offensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio should’ve been busting his ass to prove how great his defense is so he could leverage his way into the head coaching gig next season over Andy Reid’s drunk baby boy.

He came into the year with Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, one of the most talented group of pass rushers in the league while watching Eric Bieniemy across the field trying to figure out how to turn his shitty pile of Sam Howell into a real NFL quarterback yet somehow, Del Rio couldn’t usurp the throne.

Jack Del Rio saw an empty net and ripped a slapshot full speed into the concession stands.

According to the new owner of the Commanders, Josh Harris, it was Ron Rivera who went to him and recommended moving on from Jack Del Rio.

Here’s what Josh Harris said about the decision:

“I feel exactly how our fans feel today: disappointed and frustrated. It’s how our players and staff feel as well. I knew our first season of ownership would include challenges along the way, and we will not shy away from hard work, nor will we be deterred by adversity. As Coach Rivera and I discussed, all of our energy for the remainder of the season will be focused on playing better, more consistent football and developing our players while intently evaluating the areas in which we need to improve this offseason. Our fans deserve a team that can compete with the NFL’s best and win sustainably over the long-term. I will not waver from that mission.”

JDR had an opportunity to lead a coup and Rivera saw it a mile away. It’s also safe to assume if Harris is taking counsel from his head coach then that head coach will most likely be running the team next year. The 2023 NFL season is almost over. Washington has 4 wins. And the entire organization decided this was exclusively the fault of Jack Del Rio.

Here’s the problem with firing Jack Del Rio

Washington has 4 wins with 5 games left to play.

Firing Jack Del Rio right now does nothing positive for this franchise. Let’s say Del Rio truly is responsible for the Commanders being buns and they go on a run winning 4 of their last 5 games. They finish 8-9 and miss the playoffs. What was even the point?

At this point in the season, it would behoove this organization to allow Del Rio to continue leading this defense into the dirt in order to improve their draft position instead of attempting to rack up meaningless moral victories for a group of fans who will sell out FedEx Field Week 1 next year no matter what.

I mean, this team is going to lose regardless but they should stick to what they know guarantees the other team always scores more points than them and that’s Jack Del Rio on the sidelines calling the wrong defensive plays at the most disastrous times.

When your team sucks, you want to go into the offseason with the most options possible. With a higher draft pick, Washington can decide if they want to take one of these top QB prospects or if they want to stick with Sam Howell, they can trade down and acquire even more draft capital to fill more talent gaps on their roster to support Howell.

Fortunately, I get the feeling Washington is still going to have a pretty high draft pick with or without Jack Del Rio. Sometimes it just feels better to blame one person for everything. Like, we don’t talk enough about how fun it is to point the finger. Go mess up the bathroom at your job and blame someone else for it. It’ll be the most exciting work day you’ve had in a minute.

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