The Las Vegas Raiders will have an opening at Defensive Coordinator this offseason, and here are three potential targets.
With the end of the season approaching, and the recent loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Las Vegas Raiders will be watching the playoffs from home just like you, and I will be. During the season, many fans took their frustrations out on the defense, and rightfully so.
Las Vegas’ defense has been one of the worst in the NFL under DC Paul Guenther, a close friend of Jon Gruden. While many fans called for the head of Guenther, Gruden stood by him as long as he could until it couldn’t have been ignored any longer.
This season, the Raiders have been at the bottom of nearly every statistical category on defense.
These defensive woes haven’t just been this season but were last season as well. In 2019, the then Oakland Raiders were 31st in turnover rates with only 15 the entire season. They also struggled in points allowed, being 24th, and giving up 116 more points than the offense scored.
The only place they shined was in the rushing defense, which was top-10, but that was due to teams passing the ball on the Raiders every game. In the passing game, they were 30th in yards allowed and gave up the second-most touchdowns through the air.
In 2020, the issues continued. The Raiders are near the bottom of the same categories, while also having one more issue: coaching. Defensive players are consistently and constantly out of position, most notably the secondary, specifically the safeties. In three games, the two safeties have given up game-losing plays to the Patriots, the Colts, and the Cheifs.
Going into 2021, here are a few coaches the Raiders should target for the Defensive Coordinator job.