The Oakland Raiders surprised a lot of people when they signed Vontaze Burfict, but defensive coordinator Paul Guenther says it was a “no-brainer” to sign him. When Burfict left Arizona State in 2012 current Raiders, general manager, Mike Mayock was working for NFL media as a draft analyst and had an “undraftable” grade on him.

Mayock was also very critical at times of Burfict's play on the field when Mayock was a media member but is all in on Burfict being on the team.

Guenther used to be Burfict's defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals and will now get another chance to guide him with the Raiders.

“To take a leap of faith on him was a no-brainer,” Guenther said, via ESPN.com. “He’s coming to resurrect his career. He’s coming into a defense he knows, but a new place, a fresh beginning.

Burfict has been a talent on the field but has had problems staying on it. He has missed 37 games over the last five years because of injury and suspensions. A lot of the suspensions have been for dirty hits that probably could have easily been avoided.

Mayock knows how close Guenther and Burfict are and hope that the two back together will be successful on the field.

“Paul became one of his best friends, earned his trust, showed him how to become an NFL player and kind of unearthed the fact that on top of being this incredibly tough, physical guy, he was also smart and instinctive,” Mayock said a week after signing Burfict, the day after he was released by Cincinnati. “When he was in shape, when he was healthy … he was as good as any off-the-ball linebacker in football.