Washington Football Team: Should Jack Del Rio be on the hot seat?

After three dreadful weeks, should Washington Football Team defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio be on the hot seat?

It is no secret that the Washington Football Team‘s defense has grossly underperformed through the first three weeks of the 2021 season. They came in the year with expectations of being one of the best units in the entire NFL. In fact, many thought they would be the best defense in all of football.

Their 432 total yards allowed per game is second-worst in the NFL though. Meanwhile, their 30.7 points-allowed-per-game is fourth-worst. They also have just six sacks and two takeaways. As you could guess, neither sits near the top of the leaderboard either.

Now, a big part of this has been individual performances. You can’t act like Chase Young hasn’t been disappointed. The entire defensive line hasn’t looked very good. Montez Sweat has made some plays, so has Jonathan Allen. Everyone has gotten to the quarterback a few times, but they rarely (if ever) bring him down.

The secondary has been bad, and the linebackers just as dreadful.

That all being said, let’s not throw all the blame on the players. How many times have we seen a third-and-long get converted already this year? Not just from bad coverage, but from soft coverage. Almost like that’s what they were told to do. Teams are converting 58.7 percent of third downs against Washington. That’s the second-worst in the NFL.

They are rarely blitzing. The coverage looks soft. They’re constantly being out-coached. It’s bad.

Speaking of coaching: Jack Del Rio. He has to be on the hot seat, right? It’s very early and panicking is never a smart move. But Washington’s defense has had barely enough good defensive possessions to even need a second hand to count. That’s ugly.

How much leeway does Jack Del Rio have left with the Washington Football Team?

Washington seems to be lost out there. It will be third and 15 and the entire secondary is playing 12 yards deep off the snap. Someone will make a catch at the first down marker with two defenders playing a few yards off waiting to tackle him. It’s getting infuriating.

Washington has one of the most exciting front sevens in football. They rarely blitz. Yes, you could argue that the defensive line should be able to get through more often and you would 100 percent be right. But maybe help them a little bit instead of sticking Jon Bostic and Cole Holcomb in coverage so they can get burnt and look lost.

The offense hasn’t looked phenomenal; no one is pretending it has. But it should not be the strength (said loosely) of the team at this point. No one could have predicted that through three weeks, you’d be holding your breath every time the Washington Football Team is on defense.

Del Rio is far from the only problem right now. But it’s also up to the defensive coordinator to get his players to perform to their level. That means working the right schemes, throwing different packages out there, try something different, please.

Washington seems to limit themselves. Teams are ready to run and throw all over them because they know the blitzes aren’t coming often and the coverage is going to be soft. Take those medium-sized-gains and run with them.

Jack Del Rio calls the plays. Del Rio is responsible for the play of the defense. A defense that was ranked second-best in the NFL last year and can’t stop a nose-bleed (shoutout to Bart Scott) this year.

It’s not time to cut him loose just yet, no reason to panic just yet. Three weeks is still very early. But the seat is getting warmer by the week. It’s pretty hot now and if things don’t improve within the next few games, it will be too hot for Del Rio to sit in anymore. The Washington Football Team could be looking for a new defensive coordinator if things don’t change, fast.