2020 was a dreadful season for the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense. Looking back, this is a year most fans want to forget about. To remedy this, the Silver and Black will move fast to bring in a new defensive coordinator.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden did what many thought imaginable, he actually fired now-former defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. Fans had been waiting for that moment for quite some time, and we don’t blame them. Since his arrival, Guenther’s defense was consistently one of the worst in the entire NFL, this year being especially putrid. This was likely a difficult decision for Gruden, especially considering their friendship, but enough was enough.
Despite having promising talent, Guenther couldn’t get the most out of it. In fact, many of the team’s expensive free agent acquisitions were being misused. All in all, the Raiders defense did play somewhat well under interim coach Rod Marinelli, at least they showed more effort on film.
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What will the Raiders do at defensive coordinator?
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently shed some light on the search for a new defensive boss. The most noteworthy factor of all this is that Gruden will be moving fast. “We plan to move quickly, and we’re excited about this process.” Actually, it would benefit the team if they could find their answer relatively fast. The Silver and Black will need to address several matters including draft prospects and roster restructuring among others.
Gruden also spoke on what they’re looking for schematically and personality-wise as well. “Don’t get me wrong, we’d like to have some three-down elements and be multiple, but we want to play four bigs if we can.”
Based on both scheme and his history with Gruden, Marinelli has a good chance, though we’re sure many fans won’t be too thrilled with that. The head coach went on to emphasize that the new coordinator needs to be successful and have a great work ethic. Interestingly enough, that also sounds like Marinelli. In what could be a fluid situation in Las Vegas, the final decision will be an interesting one.
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*Top Photo: Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal