Rodney Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) 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. He has been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when he has not been a coordinator. From 2006 until 2008, Marinelli was the head coach of the NFL's
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, where he presided over their infamous winless
2008 season.
Coaching career
Early career
Marinelli's coaching career began in 1973 as an assistant at Rosemead High School in suburban Los Angeles from 1973 to 1975. He earned his first collegiate job in 1976, serving as an assistant to Bruce Snyder at
Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...
until 1982. He then moved on to the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
for nine seasons, serving as the defensive line coach and later the assistant head coach. He was then on staff with
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
for three seasons, again holding a dual role as defensive line and assistant head coach, between 1992 and 1994. Marinelli spent his final year in college football at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
in 1995.
National Football League
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Marinelli went to the
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 ...
in 1996 and was the defensive line coach for six seasons under head coach
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...
. In the latter four seasons he also served as assistant head coach, winning a
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
in 2003. He was known for his structured approach and his commitment for trying to get the most out of his players. There he worked to develop linemen such as
Warren Sapp
Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college football at Miami, where h ...
and
Simeon Rice
Simeon James Rice (; born February 24, 1974) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft.
In his 12-year NFL career, Rice recorded 122 sacks, forced 25 fumbles, recov ...
into Hall of Fame caliber players. During Marinelli's tenure in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers earned more sacks than any other franchise.
Detroit Lions
On January 18, 2006, Marinelli was named the head coach of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, replacing
Dick Jauron
Richard Manuel Jauron (born October 7, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five with the Detroit Lions and three with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron served as the he ...
. Marinelli was the third coach hired by Lions CEO
Matt Millen
Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is a former American football linebacker and executive. Millen played 12 years in the National Football League for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins, ...
, preceded by
Marty Mornhinweg
Marty Mornhinweg (born March 29, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who was a senior offensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was the offensive coordinator for the San Francis ...
and
Steve Mariucci
Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...
.
The Marinelli era began poorly, as the Lions lost the first five games of the 2006 season before beating 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. ...
20–17. The Lions lost seven games in a row between weeks 10 and 16 before ending the year on a high note by beating 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 ...
39–31.
The 2007 season started off well for the Lions as they started 6–2. However, the Lions lost seven out of their last eight games, and finished the 2007 season 3rd in the NFC North with a 7–9 record.
Despite a perfect 4–0 preseason, Marinelli coached the 2008 Lions to a winless 0–16 campaign, the first winless season for any NFL team since the 16-game regular season was instituted in 1978. (The last team to lose all of their games was the 1976
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 ...
, who went 0–14; the last team to not win a game was the 1982
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
, who were 0–8–1 in a strike-shortened campaign. The
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
later repeated a winless 0-16 campaign in 2017.)
On December 29, 2008, Marinelli was fired, in addition to the majority of his coaching staff. His record during the three seasons with the Lions was 10–38, one of the worst in NFL history for a head coach with at least three years' experience. Among coaches with at least 10 career wins, only
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...
has a worse record (10–46–2);
Steve Spagnuolo
Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (; born December 21, 1959) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid after being a defensive assistant wit ...
posted the same 10–38 mark as Marinelli.
Chicago Bears
Marinelli joined the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in January 2009 as assistant head coach and defensive line coach,
reuniting him with
Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...
, whom he worked with under
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...
in
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
from 1996–2000.
Marinelli also interviewed with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
and
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
before joining the Bears. Marinelli was promoted from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator in February 2010. In the 2010 to 2012 seasons, Marinelli's defenses ranked ninth, seventeenth, and fifth, respectively. Also in 2012, the Bears led the NFL in interceptions with 24, along with in takeaways with 44, sixth in third-down efficiency (35.5 percent) and eighth in sacks with 41, while ranking third with the fewest points allowed (477). Marinelli left the Bears in January 2013.
Dallas Cowboys
On January 18, 2013, Marinelli joined 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 ...
as defensive line coach. Marinelli was promoted to defensive coordinator after the demotion of
Monte Kiffin
Monte George Kiffin (born February 29, 1940) is an American football coach. He is currently a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss for his son, Lane Kiffin. He is widely considered to be one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern f ...
on January 28, 2014.
The Cowboys posted a 12–4 record in Marinelli's first season as the defensive coordinator, his defense ranked 14th after being expected, by many before the season, to be the worst in the history of the NFL.
On January 13, 2015, Marinelli signed a 3-year extension with the Cowboys to remain the defensive coordinator.
Las Vegas Raiders
On February 5, 2020, Marinelli was named the defensive line coach for the Raiders. On December 13, 2020, Marinelli was promoted to interim defensive coordinator, following the firing of
Paul Guenther.
On February 11, 2022, Marinelli announced that he would be retiring from coaching.
Head coaching record
Personal life
Marinelli and his wife, Barbara, have two daughters, Chris and Gina.
Chris is married to
Joe Barry
Joe Barry (born July 5, 1970) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the Los A ...
, the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
defensive coordinator.
Marinelli is a veteran of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. He was wounded in Vietnam and contracted malaria.
References
External links
Las Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinelli, Rod
1949 births
Living people
American people of Italian descent
Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches
California Golden Bears football coaches
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football players
Chicago Bears coaches
Dallas Cowboys coaches
Detroit Lions head coaches
High school football coaches in California
Las Vegas Raiders coaches
National Football League defensive coordinators
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
USC Trojans football coaches
Utah State Aggies football coaches