Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is in a make or break season after 3 underwhelming years at the helm.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan knew he was in for a lengthy rebuilding process when he fired former head coach Mike Mularkey and former general manager Gene Smith after the 2012 season. He hired David Caldwell to lead the franchise and he subsequently hired Gus Bradley to coach the team. Since then, the Jaguars have won 12 games and have never really flirted with playoff contention.
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While the wins haven’t been there, the team has showed progress under Gus Bradley, just not where you’d expect. The offense emerged as one of the most explosive in the NFL in 2015 but the defense regressed and had no answer for opposing passing attacks. Most everyone wants Bradley to succeed, but he certainly hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.
Elliot Harrison agrees and he ranked Gus Bradley as the 27th coach in his recent head coach power rankings:
"27) Gus Bradley, Jacksonville JaguarsYou don’t hear Bradley disparaged much around the league. How much of that has to do with his days as defensive coordinator in Seattle? While it seems the Jaguars are finally turning things around, there is no getting past his 12-36 record as a head coach. The talent level when Bradley arrived in 2013 was certainly low, which has more than a smidge to do with that horrific mark. At least it seems GM David Caldwell is finally furnishing his head coach with talented dudes on defense. It’s only taken three-and-a-half years."
Harrison is right – this is the most talented roster Bradley has ever had, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. With at least 4 new starters on defense capable of playing at a high level, there’s no reason for the Jaguars to have a bottom 10 defense.
If Bradley can put together a winning record, he should end up significantly higher on rankings like this next year. If not, then the Jaguars are likely looking for a new head coach for 2017.