Paul Casey "Gus" Bradley (born July 5, 1966) is an American football coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

from 2009 to 2012, where he was the original playcaller of the team's

Legion of Boom Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

secondary. Bradley later served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 to 2016. Following his dismissal from Jacksonville, he returned to assistant coaching and became the Colts' defensive coordinator in 2022.

Early life

Bradley was the youngest child of six and grew up in Zumbrota, Minnesota, where he played football, basketball and baseball at Zumbrota High School.

College career

Bradley played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at North Dakota State University from 1984 to 1988, where he was a

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

and punter. Bradley helped the Bison win the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1984, 1987, and 1988, or three of the four years he played. He also was a four-time academic all- North Central Conference selection. Bradley earned bachelor's degrees in business administration (1989) and physical education (1990) from North Dakota State as well as a master's degree in athletic administration from NDSU in 1992.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Bradley joined the North Dakota State Bison as a graduate asst. coach in 1990 and was there until 1991. He was the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Fort Lewis College from 1992 to 1995 and spent four months as the team's head coach from December 1995 to March 1996. From 1996 to 2005 Bradley returned to North Dakota State and coached in many positions including defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, and assistant head coach to Bob Babich and Craig Bohl. Under Bradley's guidance, North Dakota State's defense led the Great West Football Conference in scoring defense (13.7 ppg), pass defense (150.3 ypg), total defense (272.4 ypg) and turnover margin (+1.00) in 2005.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2006, Bradley joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defensive quality control coach, working closely with defensive coordinator

Monte Kiffin Monte George Kiffin (born February 29, 1940) is an American football coach. He is currently a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss for his son, Lane Kiffin. He is widely considered to be one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern f ...

in the organization and implementation of the defensive game plan. In 2007 Bradley was promoted to linebackers coach after previous linebackers coach

Joe Barry Joe Barry (born July 5, 1970) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the Los A ...

left to become defensive coordinator for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Under Bradley's guidance, linebacker

Barrett Ruud Barrett James Ruud (born May 20, 1983) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft and also played for the Tennessee Titans, ...

went on to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Month in September after leading the Buccaneers defense with 51 tackles and adding one interception, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 12, 2009, the

hired Bradley to become the team's defensive coordinator. He was recommended for the job by former Buccaneers defensive coordinator

. In 2009, under Bradley's guidance the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 356.4 yards (24th in the league) and to score 24.4 points per game (25th). The Seahawks finished the season with a 5–11 record (3rd in the NFC West, 25th in the NFL), and subsequently replaced head coach

Jim L. Mora James Lawrence Mora (born November 19, 1961) is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Connecticut. Before that, he was the head coach of the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference from 2012 to 2017. Prior to takin ...

with Pete Carroll. Carroll decided to keep Bradley for the 2010 season; the two coaches have a common connection with Kiffin. In 2010, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 368.6 yards (27th in the league) and to score 25.4 points per game (25th). In 2011, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 332.2 yards (9th in the league) and to score 19.7 points per game (7th). In 2012, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 306.2 yards per game (4th in the league) and to score 15.3 points per game (1st).

Jacksonville Jaguars

On January 17, 2013, Bradley was hired as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. His first regular season win came on November 10, 2013 with a 29–27 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars ended the season 4–12, and Bradley was eventually named the head coach of the South team in the

2014 Senior Bowl The 2014 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featured players from the 2013 college football season, and prospects for the 2014 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded the post-seas ...

. On December 18, 2016, the Jaguars relieved Bradley of his duties as head coach, compiling a 14–48 record in 4 seasons.

Los Angeles Chargers

On January 20, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers hired Bradley as defensive coordinator under head coach Anthony Lynn. After a 2017 season that saw the defense allow 17 points per game, the third-fewest in the NFL, Bradley received a three-year contract extension in January 2018.

Las Vegas Raiders

On January 12, 2021, Bradley was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders to be their defensive coordinator under head coach

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...

, replacing Paul Guenther, who was fired during the 2020 season.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 4, 2022, Bradley was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach Frank Reich.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Las Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Gus 1966 births Living people American football punters American football safeties Fort Lewis Skyhawks football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars head coaches North Dakota State Bison football players North Dakota State Bison football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Las Vegas Raiders coaches Los Angeles Chargers coaches Seattle Seahawks coaches National Football League defensive coordinators People from Zumbrota, Minnesota Indianapolis Colts coaches