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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who most recently was 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, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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) NFC West, West division. The ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Playing career

College career

Buckner played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, and was a first-team All- ACC 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 tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

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 Ma ...

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–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, 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. Consequently, ...

. 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 fo ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

before the

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

. 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 and nicknamed the 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 ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The 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 linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he ...

Mike Rucker Michael Dean Rucker (born February 28, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebra ...

and

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

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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

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 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...

against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. 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 NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

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 Associa ...

football team in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

along with former NFL players, Myron Bell,

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 a ...

, and

Omari Jordan Omari may refer to: Places * Omari, Bushehr, a village in Bushehr Province, Iran * Omari, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran Given name * Omari Abdallah (born 1943), Tanzanian runner *Omari Akhmedov (born 1987), Russian ...

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 (first stint)

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 h ...

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 professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...

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 professional football coach and former quarterback who was the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He spent most o ...

. He was fired from this role on January 8, 2024.

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 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