FanPost

Gus Bradley, what are you doing?


Gus Bradley first came to the attention of those in the game when he was working under Monte Kiffen back in the mid 00's at Tampa Bay. Later in a conversation with Jim Mora, Kiffen is suppossed to have told Mora, 'I have got the perfect coach for you, a once in a life-time opportunity.' Mora duly hired Bradley in Seattle, and after two poor seasons Mora was gone.

The new coach Pete Carrol, decided that Bradley would remain in place, which proved to be a masterstroke, his defense became the envy of the League. All this meant that in no time at all Bradley got his Head Coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It's very difficult to get a real feel of what when on at Jacksonville under Bradley, but to say it was uninspiring is an understatement. The surprising thing about his record (14-48) is that there was a 4th season at all, not many owners/GM's allow a win a 25% win total through 3 seasons and decide to give a 4th. The only conclusion to draw is that there was a deep belief that Bradley had something but in the end he just couldn't show it, they certainly gave him every opportunity.

He was appointed DC by Anthony Lynn, newly installed LA Chargers coach. It's interesting to see that he was immediately recruited by an offensive side of the ball HC, and that he would have autonomy over the defensive side, such was still the confidence those in the know had for him. He made a fast start with the Chargers defense, mainly courtesy of the partnership of Ingram and Joey Bosa. The following season Bradley's defense enjoyed the incoming rookie Derwin James, who put in an All-Pro performance. Thereafter however the Chargers suffered a barage of injuries and team mishaps resulting in extraordinary defeats, and Lynn's reign came to an end at the end of last season. Bradley was not actually fired along with his HC, but he decided not to hang around and when Gruden called he took the defensive cordinator job with Las Vegas.

And, with Bradley's new appointment, just what career path now is Bradley on? For me I think his appointment under Gruden is absolutely pivotal to what legacy he leaves in this game. Despite the fact that this may be the toughest test yet as a DC, if he leaves this job with a fail after his name, the likelihood is his career will nosedive. If Bradley has any ambitions to once again be a HC, then in this job, he has to absolutely excel.

Would you really choose a job, where quite frankly the defense you are taking over is a complete shambles? As a DC new to a team, is there any other type of defense to take over? Of course, DC's get chosen to become HC's and they leave behind an excellent defense, but you can't have it both ways. Bradley can take full credit for the defense he left behind in Seattle, when he took the Jags job, so if you want full credit again, you need to build something right from the ground up.

Bradley is very well aware of exactly where his career is, yet for me, even at such a pivotal stage of his career, he has taken what is probably the hardest coordinator job in the League. Bradley is either very brave or he's foolhardy, you take your pick?

Bradley led defenses that are not known at all for their blitz mentality, in fact so much so that the Chargers were 32nd the last two seasons in blitz %. This is what he had to say at his first press call as the new Raiders DC,

"Really, where it all starts is up front," Bradley said. "First and foremost is to get things right up front, and then fill it in everywhere else.

"You need to be able to affect the quarterback. When you look at stats they say if you’re in the top five stopping the run, that gives you a great chance to make the playoffs. But really the stat that’s consistent is the ability to affect the quarterback. If you can affect the quarterback, you have a good chance to help your team make it to that level that you’re all shooting for."

That first sentence says it all, none of us can say that the way that F.A turned out we couldn't have seen it coming. There were no surprises at all, Bradley rolled the dice multiple times on the Dline, giving himself as many bodies and options it was possible to do. And likewise, the 'fill in everywhere else' has been cautious to say the least, and frustrating to many.

Bradley is as good to as his word as we can expect from any NFL coach, but until his defense gets on the field there will not be one question that will be answered. But clearly he has had to work to budget constraints, particularly in the current climate. Once the franchise tags had been delivered, it left little in terms of pressure up the middle, so it became a question of quantity rather than quality. Can he turn any of these bodies into a Dline that becomes a whole significantly greater than the sum of its parts.

Because, by Gus Bradley's own words this defense will live or die by that equation.