Wisconsin's Jack Del Rio to resign after crash, OWI arrest

Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio, the senior adviser to Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, will resign after he was arrested early Friday and cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated following a crash in Madison, Wisconsin.

Del Rio, 61, was arrested shortly after midnight Friday after a vehicle he was driving hit a street sign, broke a fence and came to a rest in a yard, according to a Madison Police incident report. Officers were dispatched to the scene, located west of campus and Camp Randall Stadium, at 12:35 a.m.

Witnesses directed the officers to the driver, who was walking away from the area, according to the incident report. No injuries were reported.

Del Rio "showed signs of impairment" and admitted to driving the vehicle. He was arrested for first-time OWI and released.

"I'm grateful to Coach Fickell and the University of Wisconsin for the opportunity to work with such a talented coaching and support staff and some of the best young football players in the country," Del Rio said in a statement Monday. "I have decided to step away from my position with the team, so they can focus all their attention on the remainder of the season."

Wisconsin issued a statement saying they were aware of the incident and "take matters like this very seriously."

The former Jaguars and Raiders head coach joined Fickell's staff at Wisconsin in August. Del Rio had previously served as the  Commanders' defensive coordinator and had held coordinator roles with Carolina and Denver.

"He's going to move forward and he's going to resign and move on," Fickell said Monday. "But it's a tough situation. Decisions that all of us have to be able to take full responsibility for. So that's what Jack will do, and we'll continue to move forward."

Del Rio played linebacker with four NFL teams before embarking on a coaching career entirely spent at the pro level until he came to Wisconsin.

The Badgers are coming off a bye week heading into Saturday's showdown at home against No. 1 Oregon.