Cardinals hire Brentson Buckner as defensive line coach

It looks like the Arizona Cardinals are bringing back a familiar face in Brentson Buckner to coach the defensive line, according to an announcement from his twitter.

Buckner previously served as the Cardinals’ defensive line coach from 2013-17 under Bruce Arians. He had previous stints with the Buccaneers and most-recently the Raiders, who replaced Buckner with Rod Marinelli.

Calais Campbell had some of his most productive seasons as a Cardinal thanks to Buckner, as well as helping him make his first two Pro Bowls (2014, 2015). He also brought the best out of Darnell Dockett and Frostee Rucker at the end of their careers.

Here is how the Cardinals’ run defense ranked in his time in Arizona: ‘13 (1st), ‘14 (13th), ‘15 (6th), ‘16 (9th), ‘17 (6th).

This past season, the Cardinals’ run defense was ranked 24th in the NFL. Buckner should be beneficial to a Cardinals’ defensive line that was one of the worst in generating pressure and stopping the run. Although there are many new faces on the defensive line since the last time he coached here, one player that still remains is nose tackle Corey Peters. Rodney Gunter is scheduled to be a free agent.

Buckner will be replacing Chris Achuff, who was holdover from Steve Wilk’s staff and was fired in December.