Jack Del Rio Allegedly Drove His Vehicle Through A Street Sign, Crashed Through A Fence, Parked In Someone's Front Lawn, Was Arrested For Drunk Driving, And Resigned from Wisconsin's Coaching Staff

Badger Extra - University of Wisconsin football staffer Jack Del Rio was arrested and cited for operating while intoxicated, first offense, early Friday morning.

Del Rio, 61, was driving in the area of South Segoe Road and Keating Terrace around 12:35 a.m. Friday when his vehicle hit a street sign, broke a fence and came to a rest in a yard, according to a Madison Police Department incident report.

Witnesses directed officers to Del Rio, who was walking away from the area. Del Rio was transported to a local hospital for a blood draw and released to a responsible party, per the incident report. 

If you knew that Jack Del Rio, the best Raiders head coach in the last decade who wasn't forced to resign because of slurs, was working on the Wisconsin Badgers football staff as a Special Advisor to Head Coach Luke Fickell, then you know more ball than I do. It makes perfect sense really. Wisconsin's football program and Jack Del Rio are almost mirror images of each other. Exceedingly average, but occasionally find themselves in a position near the top of their conference. People start talking about how, "Maybe they're the real deal this year", until they inevitably lose to a team who outclasses them in every way, and in hindsight we all realize, "Yeah they never actually had a chance to win anything meaningful did they.."

It's the perfect marraige. Jack Del Rio & Wisconsin go together like drunk driving & Wisconsin. 

(I don't have any stats to back up there being a high rate of drunk drivers in Wisconsin. But when I think of Wisconsin, I think of Spotted Cow. Spotted Cow is a popular beer that only available in the state. So in my mind, Wisconsin = beer. Also cheese. Also I figure they don't have the best public transportation there. So I have to assume Wisconsinites are constantly driving around the state with bellies full of Spotted Cow and various cheeses.)

In Jack Del Rio's defense, Wisconsin was on a bye week. He didn't have a game to give special advice on the next day. Yes, you would think a decade long career in the NFL as a player, and 20+ years of NFL coaching contracts would put Jack in a position where he could afford an Uber. But before you get on your high horse about drunk driving, remember what Mike Gundy reminded us of when his star running back Ollie Gordon was charged with a DUI in the off-season. Aren't we all constantly driving drunk? Who among us hasn't drove drunk at least 1,000 times?

Jack Del Rio just got a little unlucky when he drove his vehicle through a street sign, crashed through a fence, and parked in someone's front lawn. Bad luck is all it was. Everybody wants to shame 61-year old Jack Del Rio for his DUI last Friday, but nobody wants to give him credit for all the times he drank 12 beers, got behind the wheel, and made it home unscathed. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for Wisconsin. According to Luke Fickell, Jack Del Rio will be resigning from his special advisor role as a result of this incident. 

So Jack will have to find a new head coach to advise on how to perform well enough that he collects a paycheck for 3 or 4 years before the administration or front office ultimately realizes they'd be better served to take the team in a different direction. But I'm sure Jack will land on his feet. There will ALWAYS be a role for a guy like that in the world of football.