Former Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli remains close to star Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Marinelli served as the Raiders interim defensive coordinator in 2020 and the team’s defensive line coach from 2020-2021.

Crosby described the former Lions head man as the “best thing that ever happened to me” on the latest edition of Gruden Goes Long.

“When I first got with coach Marinelli, you know how he is. He’s gonna test you as a man first and foremost,” said Crosby. “At first, I looked at it as a threat. I felt like, ‘Oh, he has something against me.’ But the first thing I told him was, ‘I want to be the best. No matter what, coach, I want to be the best. Coach me that way.’ He’s like, ‘Alright.’ So every day, he was on my ass. Made it miserable for me.”

After dedicating himself in the offseason, Crosby felt ready in 2021 to arrive into OTAs playing at his very best. He quickly noticed that his play did little to impress the hard-nosed defensive coach.

“It took about a year, year-and-a-half until I went up to his office. This was the first day of OTAs going into my third year. I was in the best shape of my life. I completely dedicated myself to doing what I am today. Across the board, locked in. I went into the first day of OTAs so excited to show coach Marinelli I’m in the best shape of my life,” said Crosby. “I’m never looking back, I’m flying around. Everything he said, ‘Nope. Too high. Not good enough. Get low. Pad level.’ Killing me.  I was like, ‘This motherf****r.’ I went right up to his office and told him, ‘Coach, what is the problem? You’re not saying anything to these other guys. I’m in the front of the line, I’m going 100 miles an hour, I’m trying to do everything above and beyond.”

Marinelli reminded the young defensive lineman he wanted to be coached ‘hard’ and that all the great defenders in the league wanted to be pushed on a daily basis.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Remember what you told me when I first got here? You want to be the best. I coached (Warren) Sapp, I coached (Julius) Peppers, that’s how I coached them. So, if you want that, I can take the foot off the gas. I’ll be nice to you and you can be just like everyone else. Or, if you really want to be that, I’m gonna push you like that every day.’ That always stuck with me. So many coaches I can thank along the road, but I say this being 100 percent serious, you gave me confidence at a time I didn’t have it initially.”

The 27-year-old is expected to remain with the Raiders, even though his name has been floated around in recent trade rumors that past two NFL seasons.

“At the end of the day, me and coach Marinelli still talk damn near every single day. We talk about Hall of Fame, and Super Bowls. And they go hand in hand,” said Crosby. “I’m a competitor, and I’m a winner, and I want to be a part of that.”

Marinelli was the Lions head coach from 2006–2008. Unfortunately, the team went 0-16 in his final season at the helm in Motown.