It finally happened. After an embarrassing performance in the 14th week against the Indianapolis Golds, the Raiders have sacked defensive coordinator Paul Gunther.
This season the Raiders are allowing more than 30 points per game, which is not surprising now that they have allowed 31 or more points in four straight games. It is a matter of whether or not Gunther will be relieved of his duties. The fact that it took so long for them to play so badly at the end of the 2019 season and this year is really amazing.
According to the team’s Twitter account, they will promote defensive line coach Rod Marinelli to the role of defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.
The writing has been on the wall for some time, as security has failed to come to fruition. In the second half of the season, the unit got worse and they could not cope with any injuries or suffering. Gunder was in a similar role for the third year with the team, having previously been a defensive coordinator in Cincinnati with pencils.
Marinelli is one of the most respected defensive minds in the NFL and has a ton of experiential call-up plays. Given his knowledge of Las Vegas and his relationship with Crude, don’t be surprised if he’s a long-term option.