Brentson Buckner to return to Arizona Cardinals as D-Line coach

The Arizona Cardinals appear to be bringing back former defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, as first reported by The Athletic’s Greg Auman and seemingly confirmed by Buckner himself on Twitter.

Buckner was with the Oakland Raiders in 2019 but was let go earlier this month. According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, that was because head coach Jon Gruden needed to make room on the staff for “someone else.”

The Raiders eventually hired former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli in his place.

The 48-year-old Buckner was the Cardinals’ defensive line coach from 2013 through 2017 under then-head coach Bruce Arians, who has since gone on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Buckner joined Arians for a season in 2018 before going to Oakland last year.

Buckner replaces Chris Achuff, who was reportedly fired in December along with assistant special teams coach Randall McCray.

Buckner played college football at Clemson and went on to be a second-round selection (50th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1994. He played 12 NFL seasons with the Steelers, Bengals, 49ers and Panthers.

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