He is best known for guiding Pieter van den Hoogenband, Inge de Bruijn, and Ranomi Kromowidjojo to multiple Olympic gold medals, and for leading significant strategic and operational change as Director of the Australian Swimming Team between 2014 and 2020.

At his third and fourth Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012, Jacco acted in a combined coaching and Technical Director role.

And after five Olympic Games he successfully transitioned to High Performance Management in 2012, becoming Sporting Director of the Dutch Swimming Team and the Nationaal Zweminstituut Eindhoven.

In June 2019, Jacco announced he would depart the role and return to the Netherlands after the 2020 Games, his seventh Olympics.

Jacco was awarded Netherlands Coach of the Decade in 2010, and honoured in 2012 with Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Royal Knight of Orange-Nassau).