Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Raiders defense could take on a purple hue under Paul Guenther

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- If you want a glimpse at what the Oakland Raiders defense of the near future should look like under new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, take a gander at the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

Specifically, the guys in purple.

Guenther took on a trait or 10 from Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer during their time together in Cincinnati, when Zimmer was the Bengals' defensive coordinator and Guenther was his linebackers coach.

“I think structurally they’re very, very similar ... 80, 90 percent of the defense, the calls, the fronts, the coverages, the terminology is all about the same,” Guenther, who was elevated to defensive coordinator in Cincinnati when Zimmer left for Minnesota in 2014, said of how his defensive mentality resembles that of Zimmer.

“Certainly, I have my own little things that I added to the defense as I went along. He’s added things. We’re always talking in the offseason, just because we’re close friends, about the things that he’s doing, things that I’m doing. I would say it’s very similar.”

Like employing a 4-3 base defense, which the Raiders have run for years and whose current personnel fit best.

Especially pass-rusher Khalil Mack, who was an All-Pro in 2015 and the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2016 but who was not voted even a second-team All-Pro last season.

“In Cincinnati, we drafted two guys last year -- [defensive end] Jordan Willis and [outside linebacker] Carl Lawson -- [and] we were a 4-3 team, we always have been, but when I got those guys out on the grass, I started realizing these guys can do some different things for us,” Guenther said. “If I had gone back to Cincinnati, I may have tweaked some things just based upon the abilities of the players that we had. So I’m going to do what’s best with the talent that we have.

“If a guy has to play 60 snaps for us, he plays 60. If he plays 10, he’s a good blitzer, then that’s going to be [the case]. We’re going to put the players in the best position we can to succeed, whether it’s a 4-3, a 3-4, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be flexible that way with what we got.”

The Bengals had the No. 18 defense last season while the Raiders were at No. 23. The Vikings were No. 1.

“The system that we have, I believe in,” Guenther said. “I’ve been in it for 10, 12 years now. I’ve seen every snake in the system, the problems, and we have to do the best job we can as coaches to build the system so the players are talking the same language, the coaches are talking the same language, we’re all on the same page and guys can play fast and understand what all the responsibilities are. I don’t really try to make it overly complicated the way I teach it.

“I teach all 11 guys what all 11 are doing, not just saying, ‘I don’t just need to know in my little area here what I’m doing. I need to know the guy beside me, the guy behind me and the guy in front of me ... what he’s doing,’ because it all fits in a line. It’s 11 guys playing a game together, not 11 guys in the same uniform running around the field every Sunday.”

Guenther has been on the job for only a week, but he has already started getting into the Raiders roster.

“I believe there’s a lot of good players here, a lot of good, young players,” he said. “You’ve got to get them out and develop them and get them to understand your system.

“Whether you’re the No. 1 defense in the league or the No. 32 defense in the league, you’re always looking to add pieces and fill out your lineup card. That’s what we’re going to be working through this spring and through the draft and through free agency as well as developing the young players that we have here.”

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