Head coaches Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, Jack Del Rio of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins, Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers and Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the nominees for the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award, the NFL announced today.
Fans can vote on NFL.com for the head coach whose game planning played the greatest role in his team's success this season. Voting will take place from 9:00 am ET on Monday, January 7 through 6:00pm EST on Monday, January 21 to determine the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year. The winner will be announced at a press conference in Arizona during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLII.
Jack Del Rio coached a Jaguars team who finished the regular season with an 11 – 5 record as the fifth seed in the AFC, and who ranked first in the AFC & second in the NFL in rushing (149.4 yards per game). Jacksonville scored 24 or more points in 10 consecutive games, which contributed to their success this year. Del Rio began the season boldly cutting his QB and making David Garrard the starter, who had a 9-3 record (.750) as starter and completed 208 of 325 passes (64.0 pct.) for 2,509 yards with 18 touchdowns (versus three interceptions). The Jaguars offense was also fueled by RBs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Taylor finished the season ranked ninth in the league in rushing with 1,202 yards, averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and closed the regular season with five consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Jones-Drew ranked fourth in the AFC with 2,014 all-purpose yards (768 rush, 407 receiving, 811 KR, 28 PR). The Jaguars defense totaled 20 interceptions (tied for fourth) and 37 sacks (tied for ninth) and allowed 313.8 yards per game (12th in the league). DE Paul Spicer led the Jaguars defense with 7.5 sacks and rookie S Reggie Nelson posted five interceptions, tied for first in the NFL among rookies. Del Rio was nominated for five Motorola NFL Coach of the Week awards, winning twice.
