Did the Raiders Make a Wise Decision Parting Ways With Defensive Line Coach Brentson Buckner?

The Raiders made a lot of moves in the offseason, but none were more controversial than firing defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, who had unquestionably improved the Raiders defensive line in his one season with the team.

Buckner was replaced by Rod Marinelli, who is considered one of the best defensive line coaches in football, but after two games, the Raiders haven’t seen the results they were hoping for when they hired Marinelli.

“[Jon] Gruden doesn’t think so, but he took a chance firing successful defensive line coach Brentson Buckner so that he could hire old friend Rod Marinelli, and thus far the line hasn’t gotten any results,” The Athletic’s Vic Tafur wrote on Saturday.

It isn’t surprising that the Raiders had trouble slowing down two of the best running backs in the NFL in weeks 1 and 2, but the lack of pass rush is concerning. Maxx Crosby is off to a slow start and Clelin Ferrell’s offseason makeover is getting mixed reviews through two games. Maliek Collins was supposed to be the anchor of the defensive front, but that hasn’t been the case whatsoever.

Time will tell if the Raiders were wise to dismiss Buckner, but if Gruden wants to compete with the Chiefs for the AFC West, the pass rush needs to resurrect before they travel to Kansas City on October 11. If it doesn’t, it’s going to be another long and miserable trip to Arrowhead Stadium for the Raiders.

The Kansas City quarterback, after all, must go down… and he must go down hard.

twitter: @raidersbeat

Share:

17 thoughts on “Did the Raiders Make a Wise Decision Parting Ways With Defensive Line Coach Brentson Buckner?

  1. B squared is the truth, huge screw up by the same guy that gave two draft picks away for ab. Dallas ain’t won squat in 25 years, stealing from them is a step backwards.

  2. Hes a good coach for his position, bur at the time it wasn’t good enough for us RAIDER FANS!

  3. Being a long time Raider Nation fan , I felt it was very premature to let go of Buc , he’s a good young coach who jelled with the guys . Marinalli is a great coach , but I just think the guys identified more with Buc an he always got them fired up. Some things didn’t need to be changed and I feel that was one of them , but time will tell
    Go Raiders !!

  4. Raiders are 2-0. Tell me again what they’re doing wrong. The just beat Drew Brees and the super bowl contending Saints. Tell me again what’s broke. They’re 2-0 with a new D-Line coach, and no pre-season games to get in sync. Marinelli is designing game plans to win games, not specific stats. The win column is the only stat that matters. Would you rather be 0-2 with more sacks?

  5. Good question…Our pass rush has vanished. I guess part of that is because teams prepare for Max Crosby a bit more. Where is Maliek Collins, Ferrell, Key, and Nassib? Our pass rush seems to be non-existent. Only two games played, so still time to work out whatever our problem is. If you watched the games, you can see some effort. Just not getting there quick enough. We will work it out.

  6. Glad someone else noticed. Collins does not look like PJ against the run, looks bad. Stopping the run was our strength and now, not so. Haven’t seen Heath’s impact either. Maybe he helped, by name only, bring in Littleton. I like the pressure he brings to Guenther.
    Wait till after the 1st 4 games to make a solid judgment.
    Also, how is Arizona’s dline doing?

  7. Collins does not look like PJ against the run, looks bad. Stopping the run was our strength and now, not so. Haven’t seen Heath’s impact either. Maybe he helped, by name only, bring in Littleton. I like the pressure he brings to Guenther.
    Wait till after the 1st 4 games to make a solid judgment.
    Also, how is Arizona’s dline doing?

  8. Missed tackles in the backfield , sloppy tackling and lack of desire to hot Any one cost the raiders defense the win. Also Carr better work on his pocket awareness. That was terrible management near the goal line by the raiders. A fumble in the endzone.

    1. Al, That’s what happens when you have to play bill belecheat and the Patriots… He exposed the left side of the O-line! Without Richie Incognito the rookie is gonna have his hands full! Gruden made a horrible call having Derek up under center on the goal line. Wish we could’ve seen are starting O-line yesterday against those Patriots. Injuries to our O-line and playing 3rd string players as fill gaps don’t help DC one bit

  9. Two games is kinda hard to determine that the firing of Brentson Buckner was a mistake.

    Also considering this didn’t start with the traditional four preseason games.

    After Four games, the fifth game will be the time all teams will be in regular season mode.

  10. I can assure everyone that the Las Vegas fans won’t for long put up with the Las Vegas Raiders not having a formidable defense. This city will demand that this team be accountable for it’s shortcomings. The Golden Knights came into town and, while not winning a Stanley Cup yet, have shown themselves to be a top notch hockey team, in only two years. The Las Vegas Aces are in contention for a WNBA championship in only their second year. By year two, the Las Vegas Raiders are going to have to show themselves to be a playoff contender or some serious changes are going to be made. If this team doesn’t right this hip and soon, Paul Guenther will be out of a job along with Derek Carr and Jon Gruden. The Las Vegas Raiders fans, Mark Davis and Raider Nation are all clamoring for a winner. To be continued…

  11. Derek Carr needs to find somewhere else to play….he sucks,🏴‍☠️☠️🏴‍☠️😁🇺🇸

Comments are closed.