By Rachel Terrill, Engagement Insider
Transitions are nothing new for NFL families, but Linda Del Rio is all too familiar with life on the move. She and her husband, Jack Del Rio, the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, just completed their 40th move in their 29 years of marriage. “I like to say that life begins at forty,” jokes Linda.
Jack and Linda met shortly after he was drafted to play for the New Orleans Saints. “My initial thoughtwas that I didn’t want to get involved with an NFL player at that time in my life… and certainly not one so handsome,” she said.
Ultimately, it was Jack’s compassion and kind spirit that led Linda to marry him. “Even though he played a violent game and had very intense eyes on the field as a Linebacker, off the field he was a very kind gentle soul,” she said.
Despite the unpredictability of the NFL, Linda was determined to make the state of Louisiana their home, where their children had cousins and friends. “Jack grew to love the culture, rich heritage and “joie de vivre” spirit of Louisiana, ” she said.
Linda grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana – seeing life through a unique lens. “I grew up developing film with my father in a darkroom from a very young age,” she said. She inherited her father’s many cameras… and his love for photography. “I photographed each city where we lived, my children, and the cultures and traditions along the way. I also shot NFL games, music venues, and, my new challenge, black and white Hollywood noir portraits,” she said.
It was important to Linda that her four children have continuity in their lives while growing up in football, and that they grow up with the rich traditions of the south.
No matter where Jack played or worked, the family kept a home in New Orleans where their four children attended school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. “When the season was over, I brought the children back down south to begin school after Christmas break”.
“Moving our children so many times kept my children very close. They value, respect and support each other,” said Linda. “They can walk in any situation and they are comfortable with diversity and cultures. I am grateful that they learned this from moving and having friends all over the country.”
Although they are both passionate about their family, Linda and Jack value their time together too. “Jack and I have had weekly lunch dates for thirty years,” she said. “Sometimes it was extremely difficult to carve out this time with the demands of four children, a team, and community involvement. But doing this has kept us grounded,” she said.
“Our children are awesome and accomplished in what they love,” said Linda. “Lauren is the major gift officer for a Jazz and Heritage media outlet, Hope who was recently married, is a 2nd year Law student at Loyola Law School, Aubrey Jean is a Communications/PR major at the University of Alabama and is working as an intern for the Oakland Raiders. Our son, Luke, is a quarterback at The University of Florida, studying sports management.”
Besides family, football is the major part of Linda’s life. Over the years, game day has evolved. “First and foremost, I focus on getting Jack to the stadium calmly. It’s intense when friends and family are in town. It can be a tricky balance of trying to communicate that we want them to have fun, but it is a work day for Jack – and his success is our paycheck,” she said.
“I like to tailgate for fellowship with the players’ and coaches’ wives, and their families,” she said. “We find communion in sport and support each other. We are ingrained into each others lives - sort of a fraternity,” she said.
Linda epitomizes her call for women to follow their passions. “When we host the kickoff luncheon for the Raider Wife Association (RWA) it’s my goal to encourage the women of RWA to do what they love, even if it’s just for one hour a week.”
Linda has made giving back a part of her life. She serves the poor, works in homeless shelters, gives to food banks, and more. “I am the Vice President of Jack Del Rio Foundation ~ our mission is to support youth initiatives that mentor, empower, and serve underprivileged youth in our communities,” she said. “This fall, the Raider Wife Association will serve the Bay area every month with different initiatives, including a domestic violence project, hosting a 5K run that helps collect toiletry items for homeless women and children, and much more… We are in the process of offering the RWA women several programs for which they can volunteer during The Super Bowl because it is in our back yard.
Linda also works with young students and she has a consulting firm that mentors young athletes on campuses and consults corporations in office and workplaces on values and character building. In Jacksonville, she volunteered at Comunita Cenacolo, a community that serves young women and men with addiction issues who are in need of unselfish love, respect and healing. “I learned how to pray, really pray,” while working with these women and young men” she said, “Most of all, I learned that we need very little in life to be happy, and it also taught my kids to be grateful for their lives and how quickly the wrong decision or the wrong friend or boyfriend can change your life,” she said.
“My faith has carried me through my life and I never dreamed I would end up doing what I am doing,” she said. Linda enjoys her role of supporting other women in sports. Women in sport, whether they are a wives, fiancées, girlfriends, sisters, daughters, mothers, or grandmothers of athletes, or if they are the athlete, they have a special place in God’s heart. The woman in sport is the nurturer, the tie that binds, the sounding board… she strives to be the example of a virtuous women in this platform of sport – and the NFL is one sport that is powerful and globally bonding”.