A device includes a controller, and the controller includes a root detection circuit having multiple sets of multipliers. A method includes configuring the root detection circuit according to a degree of a polynomial. In response to detection of a root of multiple roots of the polynomial, a configuration of the root detection circuit is modified based on a polynomial degree reduction (PDR) scheme. Depending on the particular implementation, the device may be implemented in a data storage device, a communication system (e.g., a wireless communication device or a wired communication device), or another electronic device.