Las Vegas Raiders: 5 potential replacements for Paul Guenther

Las Vegas Raiders: 5 potential replacements for Paul Guenther

Current position coach or college defensive coordinator

While this may be the most unlikely choice, the Las Vegas Raiders could make a more out of the box hire by choosing to pluck a position coach from another NFL team or a defensive coordinator from the NCAA ranks. The NFL has a bevy of former star players who are now in position coaching roles such as Aaron Glenn or Jerod Mayo who could fit the bill as young and dynamic coaches that could energize a unit or even the team.

There are also several other position coaches like Kris Kocurek, defensive line coach with San Francisco, who have NFL experience but earned their current role by working their way up the ranks from smaller colleges. Kocurek’s name has come up several times as a future coordinator given his success with the 49ers and is another hire that would shake things up a bit in Las Vegas.

Lastly there are several college head coaches and coordinators like Jim Leonhard of Wisconsin or Luke Fickell of Cincinnati who fit the bill as players with NFL experience who are making their way up the coaching ranks as well.

Leonhard was in the NFL as recently as 2014 so he is not so far removed from the modern era of the league and could be an intriguing candidate.

There are more risks involved in the hiring of a young defensive coach with no coordinator experience versus a more veteran coach but the reward could be greater, as they could bring fresh new ideas to the position. Regardless of the choice made, we know that it will be hotly debated by Raider Nation, and any hire will be met with great skepticism until we see the final product on the field in 2021.