Brentson André Buckner (born September 30, 1971) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who is the

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Playing career

College

Buckner played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

, and was a first-team All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

selection in his senior year. In addition to ranking fourth all-time in school history with 46

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

for a loss, he also set a school record with a 1,220 pound lift on a leg sled.

National Football League

Pittsburgh Steelers

Buckner was selected in the second round (50th overall) of the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Mar ...

by the

. After missing the first three games of the season, he played in the last 13, and started both playoff games. During one game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, he blocked a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

. The following season, he was a regular starter for the Steelers, and was an integral part of the

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

that led them to

Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Cincinnati Bengals

In 1997, Buckner was traded to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

during the offseason. He was picked up by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

before the

1997 NFL season The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. The newly renamed Tennessee Oilers played their home games during this season at the Liberty Bowl ...

. He missed two games that season with an injury suffered against the Steelers, his former team.

San Francisco 49ers

In 1998, Buckner signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He notched his third career blocked field goal against the team he would later play for, the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He played with the Niners for three seasons.

Carolina Panthers

In 2001, Buckner signed with the

, pairing up with

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, ...

Mike Rucker Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

and

Kris Jenkins Kristopher Rudy-Charles Jenkins (born August 3, 1979) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of ...

to form what many experts called the most dominating front four

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in football. The four led the Panthers defense to

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. On March 1, 2006, Buckner was released by the Panthers.

Post retirement

After retirement, Buckner hosted a midday show on WFNZ in Charlotte, with former NFL Offensive lineman Frank Garcia. The Frank and Buck Show aired weekdays from 11am-3pm. He has also been seen on the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...

and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as an NFL analyst.

Coaching career

Northside Christian Academy

In 2008, Buckner was hired as the head coach of the

Northside Christian Academy Northside Christian Academy is a private Christian school serving grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International, the Southern Assoc ...

football team in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

along with former NFL players,

Myron Bell Myron Corey "Boo" Bell (born September 15, 1971) is a former Safety in the NFL. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. He started in Super Bowl XXX. He is a member of the City of Toledo, Ohio Hall of Fame. As a teenager ...

Mo Collins Maureen Ann Collins (born July 7, 1965) is an American actress and comedian who was a member of the ensemble on FOX's sketch comedy series '' Mad TV''. Collins became well known for several characters during her tenure on the show. She was ...

, and Omari Jordan who were his assistant coaches.

Pittsburgh Steelers

In 2010, Buckner was hired by the

as an intern and he would spend three seasons with the team.

Arizona Cardinals

On February 5, 2013, Buckner was hired by the

as their defensive line coach under head coach

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On February 19, 2018, Buckner was hired by the

as their defensive line coach.

Oakland Raiders

On January 12, 2019, Buckner was hired by the

as their defensive line coach, following the Buccaneers' hiring of head coach

. On January 14, 2020, Buckner was fired after one year with the team.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On February 5, 2020, Buckner was hired by the

, returning to be their defensive line coach under head coach

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously a collegiate football coach from 2008 to ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 17, 2022, Buckner was hired by the

as their defensive line coach under head coach

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career as ...

Personal life

Buckner and his wife, Denise, have two daughters, Nia and Nya and a son, Brandon. He also has an older son, Brentson, Jr.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckner, Brentson 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals coaches Carolina Panthers players Cincinnati Bengals players Clemson Tigers football players Clemson University alumni George Washington Carver High School (Columbus, Georgia) alumni Indoor Football League coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches