Sliding Raiders fire defensive coordinator Paul Guenther hours after loss to Colts
The Las Vegas Raiders are quickly falling out of the AFC wild-card race, and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther paid the price for it.
A couple hours after the Raiders lost 44-27 to the Indianapolis Colts, Guenther was fired.
The Raiders have relieved Paul Guenther of his duties as defensive coordinator. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will serve as interim defensive coordinator for the remainder of the 2020 season.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 14, 2020
It’s a desperate move by Jon Gruden, but his team has not been good on defense most of the season and has been very bad the past three games. The Raiders got blown out by the Atlanta Falcons, barely beat the winless New York Jets and then were torched by the Colts.
“You get to the point you second-guess everything you’re doing defensively,” Gruden said after the game. “It’s tough right now.”
The Raiders have a short week before playing the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night.
Vegas was bad on defense Sunday. Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts had 456 yards. The Raiders ranked 28th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed before Sunday’s game and will fall even further after the loss.
The Raiders started the season 6-3, but have lost three of four since then. The Raiders gave up 35 points to the Chiefs, including a last-minute touchdown drive to lose the game, 43 points to the Falcons, 28 to the Jets’ punchless offense and then 44 more points on Sunday (one Colts score came via pick six).
Changing from Guenther to Rod Marinelli might not turn everything around, but the Raiders felt they had to do something to save their sinking season.
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