Raiders fire defensive coordinator Paul Guenther

In immediate wake of the home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Las Vegas Raiders announced that they have fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther on Sunday night.

Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will take over for the rest of the season as interim defensive coordinator, which he has experience at. Coach Jon Gruden made his decision to oust Guenther shortly after a 44-27 loss to the Colts that dropped the Raiders to 7-6 and badly hurt their playoff hopes.

After the game, Gruden said the Raiders couldn’t make a stop. The Raiders have allowed 30 or more points in eight of 13 games this season.

The defense has been a problem since Gruden and Guenther came to the Raiders in 2018. The team spent a lot of money in free agency on defense and none of the additions have worked out.

The Raiders hope the coaching change will spark the unit Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. It is telling how fed up Gruden was with Guenther that he made this big move on a short week.

Expect the Raiders to have an extensive search for a new coordinator in January and Marinelli may be a candidate. Another name to consider is Atlanta Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris, who worked with Gruden in Tampa Bay. If Morris isn’t retained in Atlanta that pairing makes sense.

For now, though. the Raiders hope to salvage the season with this move.