The Las Vegas Raiders will be seeking a permanent defensive coordinator after the season, and these 5 guys should be top candidates.
After allowing over 200 yards on the ground in back-to-back games, the Las Vegas Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli has stepped into the role as the interim guy, and down some key pieces Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert threw for over 300 yards against the Raiders on Thursday night.
Any way you can slice it, the Raiders have a big issue defensively as they fade from the playoff picture this year. Adding more talent to the mix on that side of he ball in the offseason will be a priority, and a new full-time coordinator will be tasked with fostering notable improvement.
Entering Week 15, the Raiders were 25th or worse in the league in multiple categories. They allowed 30 points and 402 yards to the Chargers, with one sack and zero takeaways.
Points allowed-30.1 (30th)
Yards allowed per game -384.2 (25th)
Sacks-15 (30th)
Third-down conversion rate; 50 percent (29th)
Turnovers forced: 15 (25th)
.As the Raiders and head coach Jon Gruden entertain the search for a permanent defensive coordinator, these five guys should be prominent on the list.
5 defensive coordinator candidates for the Las Vegas Raiders
5.
Matt Patricia
Former Lions Head Coach
Patricia didn’t last three seasons as Lions’ head coach, with a 13-29-1 record. The questions about his leadership style and credibility were nearly instant early in his tenure, with a “smartest guy in the room” vibe he couldn’t back up with results in trying to turn the Lions around.
In six seasons as New England Patriots defensive coordinator (2012-2017), Patricia helped orchestrate a top-10 scoring defense four times and a top-10 yardage defense twice. It’s easy to give a lot of that credit for that success to Bill Belichick, but Patricia’s role should not be set aside.
Patricia might simply not be head coach coach material. But he will be working somewhere next year if he wants to be, and Vince Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has put him on a list of coordinator candidates for the Raiders.