Wisconsin has hired longtime NFL coach Jack Del Rio to its staff, where he will serve as senior adviser to Badgers coach Luke Fickell, the team told ESPN on Thursday.

Del Rio, the former Jaguars and Raiders coach, most recently served as Washington Commanders defensive coordinator until he was fired in November. He will work with both the offense and defense at Wisconsin and assist Fickell, who starts his second season at the school Friday against Western Michigan.

A former linebacker at USC and with four NFL teams, Del Rio has spent his entire coaching career at the pro level. The 61-year-old held defensive coordinator roles with Carolina and Denver before coming to Washington in 2020.

Fickell had hoped to have former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, his close friend and former teammate at Ohio State, around the Wisconsin program this season. But Vrabel is serving as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns.

In its quest to make a year two leap under coach Luke Fickell, Wisconsin is reportedly turning to a familiar NFL name.

The Badgers are hiring ex-NFL coach Jack Del Rio as a senior advisor to Fickell, according to a Thursday afternoon report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Del Rio, 61, most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders from 2020 to 2023. His tenure was marked by on-field inconsistency—the Commanders fielded a top-five total defense in 2022 and the league’s worst total defense in ’23—and off-field controversy.

This will be the first college coaching gig for the USC product, who was a consensus All-American linebacker with the Trojans in 1984.

As a professional, Del Rio made the Pro Bowl with the Minnesota Vikings in 1994. He worked parts of 12 seasons as a head coach, leading the Jacksonville Jaguars (in 2005 and 2007) and Oakland Raiders (2016) to the postseason.

Wisconsin is scheduled to open its season Friday against Western Michigan.

MADISON – Last winter Luke Fickell talked about having his good friend Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans head coach, come to campus to help the Wisconsin football team in some capacity during spring practice.

That didn’t work out, but Fickell has enlisted the help of a former NFL head coach.

Jack Del Rio, who was a head coach with Oakland and Jacksonville will join the UW staff as a senior advisor to the head coach. He’ll help with the offense and defense in addition to assisting Fickell. The hire was first reported by the Athletic and then confirmed by a UW spokesperson.

Del Rio spent the past four seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.

As a head coach he spent nine seasons at Jacksonville (2003-11) where his teams went 68-71 with two playoff appearances.

He was the Raiders’ head coach from 2015-17, leading them to one playoff appearance and a 25-23 record.

Del Rio played linebacker for 11 seasons in the NFL with four teams. He made the Pro Bowl with Minnesota in 1994, his second to last season.