Paul Casey "Gus" Bradley (born July 5, 1966) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(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 secondary. Bradley later served as the head coach of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

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 Zumbrota is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the North Fork of the Zumbro River. The population was 3,252 at the 2010 census. It promotes itself as "the only Zumbrota in the world." History Zumbrota was claimed as a t ...

, 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 ...

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

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 The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

in 1984, 1987, and 1988, or three of the four years he played. He also was a four-time academic all-

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

selection. Bradley earned

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

in business administration (1989) and physical education (1990) from North Dakota State as well as a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in athletic administration from NDSU in 1992.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Bradley joined the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

as a graduate asst. coach in 1990 and was there until 1991. He was the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at

Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 mandate to give qualified Native Americans a ...

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 Craig Philip Bohl (born July 27, 1958) is an American college football coach and former player, currently the head football coach at the University of Wyoming. He was previously the head coach at North Dakota State University in Fargo from 2003 ...

. Under Bradley's guidance, North Dakota State's defense led the

Great West Football Conference The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following ...

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 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

as their defensive quality control coach, working closely with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin 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 In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, three forced

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

, 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 Monte Kiffin. 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 The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...

, 25th in the NFL), and subsequently replaced head coach Jim L. Mora with

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

. 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

. His first regular season win came on November 10, 2013 with a 29–27 victory over the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. 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 The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

hired Bradley as defensive coordinator under head coach

Anthony Lynn Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968) is an American football coach and former running back who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in t ...

. 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 The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

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 Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...

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