Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio will resign from his role as a senior adviser for Wisconsin’s football program, coach Luke Fickell said, after Del Rio was arrested Friday on a first-offense charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

“He’s going to move forward and he’s going to resign and move on,” Fickell said in a news conference 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, 61, admitted to driving the vehicle, which hit a street sign, broke a fence and stopped in a yard early Friday morning around 12:30 a.m. in Madison, according to a Madison (Wis.) police incident report. Witnesses directed officers to Del Rio, who was walking away from the area and showed signs of impairment, according to the report.

There were no reported injuries. Del Rio was “released to a responsible party,” per the incident report.

Wisconsin said in a statement Monday: “We take matters like this very seriously and we are continuing to gather information.”

Fickell, who has led Wisconsin to a 5-4 record this season, said the program does not want “distractions from what the task is at hand.”

“We’ve got a few weeks left in the season, a lot of things to continue to fight for and nobody wants to take away from that, whether it’s me or Jack or anybody within our football program,” Fickell said. “We’ll move forward from that.”

Del Rio joined the Badgers’ staff ahead of the 2024 season after being fired from his role as defensive coordinator with the Washington Commanders in November 2023. He had previously spent over a decade as an NFL head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders, compiling a 93-94 record. He also served in coaching jobs with the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints.

A former standout linebacker at USC, Del Rio played 11 seasons in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in 1994.

(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)