Washington Commanders had no choice but to fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio

It’s never nice to root for a coach’s firing, but based on the tape and the metrics, the Washington Commanders had to do something about their pass defense. They did just that on Friday, sending defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio packing.

This less than 24 hours after Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys blew up Del Rio’s defense — in Prescott’s case, and in a 45-10 Dallas win, that meant 22 completions in 32 attempts for 331 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 142.1.

That’s been par for the course for the Commanders this season — through Week 11, they’d allowed a league-high 24 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions, and a league-high opponent passer rating of 101.0.

Washington’s defense came into Thanksgiving ranked 30th in DVOA, and dead last in the league against the pass. Tape study has shown SEVERAL examples of the issues with Del Rio’s defenses in recent times.

The absolute nadir of Del Rio’s defense may have been in Week 11, when Washington sacked New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito nine times… and still allowed the undrafted rookie to go off against more bad coverage.

After a 2-0 start to the season, head coach Ron Rivera’s team now stands at 4-8, and Rivera might be next on the block.

Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire