The Arizona Cardinals announced new additions to their coaching staff and changes in jobs for others on the staff on Wednesday with a press release. Five coaches left the team after the season. Four were added.
The five coaches no longer on the staff are defensive line coach Chris Achuff, defensive assistant Chris Wilson, assistant receivers coach Peter Badovinac, assistant special teams coach Randall McCray and assistant strength and conditioning coach Vernon Stephens. Achuff and McCray were reportedly fired.
The new additions?
- Brentson Buckner replaces Achuff as the team’s defensive line coach, as was previously reported.
- Jim Dray was hired as offensive quality control coach, as was previously reported.
- Mark Naylor replaces Stephens as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
- Derius Swinton replaces McCray as assistant special teams coach, as previously reported.
There some shifts on the staff.
- Spencer Whipple, previously the team’s offensive quality control coach, replaces Badovinac as assistant receivers coach. Whipple coaches receivers for a bit at Massachusetts while Andy Isabella played there.
- Charlie Bullen, who was assistant linebackers coach, now is the assistant outside linebackers coach. The team labeled it a promotion.
- Don Shumpert, who was on the staff as part of the Bill Bidwill Coaching Fellowship, was given a coaching position as an offensive assistant.
To read their bios as provided by the team in the press release, continue on to the next pages.
Brentson Buckner
He returns to the Cardinals coaching staff after previously serving in the same capacity with the team from 2013-17. He comes back to Arizona after working as the defensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2019 and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018. With Oakland last season, Buckner helped the Raiders improve from 13 sacks in 2018 to 32 in 2019 and finished ranked eighth in the NFL against the run this past season after finishing 30th in 2018. During his five seasons with the Cardinals, Arizona’s defense ranked second in rushing yards allowed per game (93.8 avg.), third in yards allowed (324.7 avg.), fourth in rushing yards per attempt (3.81 avg.) and had 203 sacks, the seventh-most in the NFL in that span.
Jim Dray
Dray returns to the Cardinals as an assistant coach after spending the first four years (2010-13) of his playing career with Arizona. He entered the league with the Cardinals as a seventh-round selection (233rd overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft out of Stanford. Dray spent last season with Cleveland as the Browns offensive quality control coach after beginning his coaching career in 2018 as an offensive assistant at his alma mater, Stanford.
Mark Naylor
Naylor joins the Cardinals from Eastern Kentucky University where he served as the Director of Sports Performance the past two seasons (2018-19) for the Colonels football team. He returns to the NFL after previously working as a strength and conditioning assistant with the Baltimore Ravens (2006-07). Prior to working at Eastern Kentucky, Naylor spent seven seasons (2011-17) as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Michigan where he worked under head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Brady Hoke.
He also spent three seasons (2008-10) as the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Ball State after working there as a graduate assistant from 2004-06. Naylor previously worked as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Missouri Southern University (2003-04) and as an intern at Michigan State in 2003.
Derius Swinton
is a 12-year coaching veteran, including 10 seasons as an NFL assistant. He previously worked as San Francisco’s special teams coordinator in 2016 in addition to coaching special teams with Chicago (2015,’17), Denver (2013-14), Kansas City (2012), and St. Louis (2009-11). The 34-year old Swinton spent the 2018 season as an offensive assistant with Detroit and spent training camp in 2019 as a special teams intern with the Cardinals.
While coaching in Chicago, kicker Robbie Gould made a then career-high 33 field goals in 2015 (tied for second in the NFL) and converted seven field goals of 50+ yards, which led the league. During his tenure with the Broncos, Swinton helped kicker Matt Prater get selected to the Pro Bowl in 2013 after setting Denver franchise records in field goal percentage (96.2) and points scored (150). A former safety and basketball player at Hampton University, Swinton began his coaching career at the University of Tennessee as a graduate assistant for two seasons (2007-08).
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