The Jack Del Rio is over for the Jaguars.
The Gene Smith era continues.
Del Rio, the Jaguars' head coach since 2003, was relieved of his duties as head coach by Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver on Tuesday, with defensive coordinator Mel Tucker being named the interim head coach.
Weaver announced the move at a noon press conference Tuesday in which he also announced that he has agreed to sell the team to Shad Khan, the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Flex-N-Gate Group.
At the same time, Weaver announced that Smith had agreed to a contract extension.
Smith, who began as a scout with the organization in 1994, became the team's general manager in 2008. He has agreed to a three-year contract extension, Weaver said.
Del Rio coached the Jaguars to a 68-71 record in nearly nine seasons, and the Jaguars made two postseason appearances during his tenure, making the playoffs as a wild-card entrant following the 2005 and 2007 seasons.
The Jaguars, a year after leading the AFC South midway through December, lost five of their first six games, and are 3-8 through11 games. They were eliminated from AFC South contention with a 20-13 loss to the division-leading Houston Texans Sunday.
Tucker, in his third season as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator, took over play-calling duties on the defensive side from Del Rio this past off-season.
After finishing 28th in the NFL in total defense last season, the Jaguars are fourth in total defense this season.
