There was no way Jack Del Rio was getting fired.

Why?

Money.

The Jaguars owe him $15 million, and he wasn't walking away from that, which is why he will be back with the team in 2010. The Jaguars also extended the contracts of his assistants late last season, which means another $5 million. So when owner Wayne Weaver met with Del Rio Tuesday, it wasn't about making a change.

It was about him making changes.

The word, according to sources, is that Weaver wanted Del Rio to change some of the ways he does things.

For a franchise that has financial worries, Weaver couldn't afford to eat $20 million. And there was no way Del Rio would go to USC without getting $15 million, whether the Jaguars paid him that over three years or the two combined to give him that money.

Truth be known, Del Rio deserved another year. He coached a team with 16 rookies and 33 new players to a 7-9 record. How could he be fired for that?

The next step is to get a franchise quarterback.

Without one, he could be called to the owner's office next year and he won't be as fortunate.

There is a crazy notion going around Jacksonville these days, and it’s that many people think Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio should be fired.

That's absurd.

Del Rio's team is clearly underachieving at 4-6, a far cry from the Super Bowl contender many expected, but to think he should be gone is crazy.

Del Rio had an 11-5 team in 2007, won a playoff game and was rewarded with a new contract extension after the season. The Jaguars aren't exactly a cash-rich team, so forget any talk of a firing, even if it were warranted.

It's not.

Del Rio's team has been hit hard by injuries, his quarterback hasn't taken the next step and the defense hasn't improved under first-year coordinator Gregg Williams.
But even if the Jaguars lose their remaining six games, Del Rio isn't going anywhere.

What a losing season would do is put him on the hot seat in 2009. For now, he's safe.
Does his team have issues? You bet. The handling of the Mike Peterson situation wasn't good. When you bench the leading tackler after suspending him for talking back in a meeting, and then say it was performance-related, who are you fooling?

One thing's for sure: Owner Wayne Weaver will be closely watching the rest of 2008 to see how Del Rio's team responds.

It doesn't help that Tom Coughlin, the man Weaver fired when he hired Del Rio, could be on his way to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.

Ouch.

Quick hits

---Speaking of Coughlin, here's a question to ponder: If he wins another Super Bowl, and his team has to be the favorite right now, is he a Hall of Fame coach? In talking to some national media members, some say not, some say yes. Jimmy Johnson won two Super Bowls and didn't get in. Neither did Tom Flores. But John Madden won one and did. If the Giants do win it this season, Coughlin would have two rings, taken two different teams to two championship games each built one of those teams from scratch. He would be an interesting Hall debate.

---I will complain. The Steelers were one of my picks this week here at the site, laying four. So when Scott Green's crew negated the touchdown by Troy Polamalu on the final play of Sunday's Steelers-Chargers game, it cost me a victory. It cost a lot of people big money. Here's the deal: The Steelers were favored by four and would have won by eight with the touchdown -- they always kick extra points in the NFL -- so they would have covered. Without that score, they didn't. Green's crew didn't give them the touchdown because it called an illegal forward pass. But after the game, Green said the crew erred in that decision and the score should have counted. That was little consolation to those who had the Steelers minus-4. The way the game played out, Steelers minus-4 was a loser anyway so it was justice that it didn't happen I guess.

---Scene after the Titans-Jaguars game: Vince Young hugging teammate Kevin Mawae in the tunnel leading to the team's locker room. Young looked thrilled his team won. How do I take that? That's he's a good teammate or that he's content? If it's the latter, that disturbs me. I don't think he needs to rocking he boat, but the giddiness over the victory just didn't seem right to me. Act happy, but hugging a teammate like he has something to
do with it seems weird to me.

---I've been critical of Mike Shanahan in the past, but I have to give him props for the past two weeks. With his defense missing six starters and his backfield crippled by injuries, the Broncos won two consecutive road games, including Sunday's victory over the Atlanta Falcons, to take the lead in the AFC West. Maybe Shanahan does his best coaching when his team is undermanned.

---Clark Judge, my partner here at CBS Sports.com, wrote a nice piece on Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride a couple of weeks ago. The gist of it was why Gilbride wasn't in the mix as a head coach. I agree. The Giants have rushed for over 200 yards in three consecutive games, they lead the league in rushing, and Gilbride has done a great job with Eli Manning. Yet you never hear his name mentioned. Gilbride had a back experience in San Diego as head coach, but I think he learned from that. The most important thing is that he has to be himself. At San Diego, he tried to be something other than himself, trying to imitate the rigid ways of Tom Coughlin, who he worked for in Jacksonville. You have to be who you are to succeed as a head coach and I think a wiser, older Gilbride deserves another shot.

---Biggest difference between this Giants team and the one that won the Super Bowl last season: The corners. Aaron Ross and Corey Webster give the Giants a nice pair of cover corners. Both have improved immensely since last season. Ross had two picks against the Ravens Sunday, one he took back for a touchdown.

---It's kind of cool seeing Denver rookie Spencer Larsen started at fullback and linebacker against the Falcons. Larsen started in place of injured Nate Webster at linebacker and took over as the fullback when the team moved Peyton Hillis to running back.

---Has Jason Campbell's bubble burst. We'll know in the final six games. One thing's certain: His fast start seems like a long time ago.

----The Cowboys are a different defense when Terence Newman is on the field. Newman, who missed five games after hernia surgery, limited Santana Moss to five catches for 20 yards as the Cowboys beat the Redskins Sunday night. His ability to play man coverage enables the Cowboys to attack more. That's something to watch as the season moves along.