It finally happened. After an embarrassing performance in Week 14 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Raiders have fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
According to the team’s Twitter account, they will promote defensive line coach Rod Marinelli to the defensive coordinator role for the remainder of the season.
The Raiders have relieved Paul Guenther of his duties as defensive coordinator. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will serve as interim defensive coordinator for the remainder of the 2020 season.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 14, 2020
The writing has been on the wall for a while now as the defense has failed to get better. In the second half of the season, the unit has gotten worse and they have been unable to overcome any injuries or adversity. This was Guenther’s third year with the team in the same role as he previously was the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati with the Bengals.
Marinelli is one of the more respected defensive minds in the NFL and has a ton of experience calling plays. Don’t be surprised if he ends up being the long-term option in Las Vegas given his knowledge and relationship with Gruden.
