Draft disorder shook out well

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - It's one of those footnotes that maintains great shelf life. It was the 2003 draft, the first with Jack Del Rio as Jacksonville's head coach, and what unfolded in the first round provided a key ingredient to this team's makeup.

Holding the eighth pick in the draft that spring, the Jaguars had their eyes on heralded quarterback Byron Leftwich. So did other teams, including the Minnesota Vikings, who were picking seventh. Only the Vikings were testing the interest levels in Leftwich by discussing trades, the Jaguars and Ravens among the interested teams.

As the story goes, the phone call between the Vikings and Jaguars went on and on, so long, in fact, that it cost the Vikings their spot in the draft order. Though the Vikings insisted they had made a deal for that seventh pick, the league dismissed that claim and announced that the club had passed on the pick. The Jaguars then swept in and snared Leftwich with the seventh choice, while the Carolina Panthers moved from ninth to eighth and took offensive lineman Jordan Gross.

The Vikings were then allowed to pick at No. 9, and they chose defensive tackle Kevin Williams.

"I'm [angry]. There is no other way I can put it," said then-Minnesota coach Mike Tice, who was not happy with how league officials handled the situation. Obviously Tice didn't hold a grudge against the Jaguars or Del Rio, because three seasons later he joined Jacksonville as an assistant head coach who works with tight ends.

Tice had been fired at the close of the 2005 season, ending a controversial four-year stint as Minnesota's head coach. It was a tenure marked by a heavy fine for being caught scalping Super Bowl tickets and having several players arrested in an embarrassing cruise-boat incident that involved sexual charges. But Del Rio has made it clear that he understands that those who stumble as head coach are still quality football coaches when placed into the right job.

Consider that in addition to Tice, Del Rio's staff includes:

Dave Campo (assistant head coach who works with the secondary), who compiled a 15-33 record in three years as Dallas's head coach, the worst winning percentage in franchise history.

Mike Shula (quarterbacks coach), whose stormy four-year tenure at the University of Alabama featured just one winning season and ended when the Crimson Tide turned to Nick Saban.

Dirk Koetter (offensive coordinator) put together a respectable 66-44 record during head coaching stints at Boise State and Arizona State, but Sun Devil fans don't remember him fondly. That's because during his six years at ASU, Koetter's teams went 2-20 against ranked opponents.

Del Rio has insisted that he's got the best staff he's had since taking the Jacksonville reins in 2003. Along the way he's dismissed a bevy of assistants - offensive coordinator Carl Smith, quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson, wide receivers coach Steve Walters, and special teams coaches Mark Michaels and Rich Rodriguez were cut loose after 2006 - but Del Rio remains undaunted in his pledge to have a team and coaching staff in his image.

His staff, meanwhile, has two faces familiar to New England football fans. Former Patriot great Ray "Sugar Bear" Hamilton, the defensive line coach, has been on the Jacksonville staff since 2003 and an NFL coach since his playing career came to a close in 1984. Hamilton has had two coaching stints with the Patriots (1985-89, 1997-99) and stops with the Buccaneers, Raiders, Jets, and Browns.

The other name you may recognize is Mark Duffner, now in his 11th year as an NFL assistant, but from 1986-91 the highly successful head coach at Holy Cross. Duffner coaches Jacksonville's linebackers.

Sidestep on tackles

Del Rio announced early in the week that linebacker Mike Peterson (broken right hand) will not play, but the questions keep coming about two other injured notables - defensive tackles John Henderson (hamstring) and Grady Jackson (knee). "They both practiced," said Del Rio. When pressed, the coach confirmed that he'd have an update on today's injury report . . . There's good reason for Del Rio to be sensitive about injuries. His team has a whopping 12 players on injured reserve, including three starters - right guard Chris Naeole, defensive tackle Marcus Stroud, and tight end George Wrighster. Signed as an unrestricted free agent in the spring of 2002, Naeole had been a workhorse for the Jaguars, playing in 87 of 88 games. That ironman stretch came to an end when he was placed on IR after suffering a quadriceps injury Nov. 4.