Ronald Lee Bradford (born October 1, 1970) is a former

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played for the NFL's Denver Broncos (1993–1995),

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

(1996),

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

(1997–2001) and Minnesota Vikings. He also served as a

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

assistant coach for the Broncos and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. Bradford was also the defensive backs coach at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

Early years

Bradford was born in Minot North Dakota. Bradford played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

at Adams City High School in

Commerce City, Colorado The City of Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States Census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Commerce City is the ...

College career

Ronnie Bradford played college football for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of C ...

. During his sophomore year, he blocked an

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

in Colorado's 10-9 victory over Notre Dame in the 1991 Orange Bowl to help Colorado win a share of the National Championship in the 1990 college football season (Colorado shared the National Championship in 1990 with

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

). That blocked extra point by Bradford was the difference in that football game.

Professional career

Bradford finished his ten NFL seasons with two sacks, four

fumble 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 ...

recoveries, and 13

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 ...

s, one of which he returned for a touchdown. With the Falcons, he played in

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlan ...

and recorded an interception from Broncos quarterback John Elway in the game.

Coaching career

Bradford spent six seasons (2003–2008) with the Denver Broncos coaching on defense and special teams. He was a defensive assistant with the

in 2009. Bradford joined California's coaching staff in March 2010 as an administrative assistant for the defense. The move reunited Bradford with former Kansas City defensive coordinator. In September 2011, he was added to the U of Memphis football staff as a secondary coach. In 2013, he coached at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research act ...

. In 2016, he was hired by

to coach the defensive secondary.

References

External links

Cal bioKansas City Chiefs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Ronnie 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Minot, North Dakota Players of American football from North Dakota American football defensive backs Colorado Buffaloes football players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players Atlanta Falcons players Minnesota Vikings players Denver Broncos coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches People from Commerce City, Colorado