Jacksonville Jaguars: Gus Bradley fired, official statement from owner Shad Khan

Gus Bradley’s time with the Jacksonville Jaguars went on too long and the owner finally relieved him of his duties after going 14-48 over four seasons.

Shad Khan has been a patient owner for the Jacksonville Jaguars, letting head coach Gus Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell work through the long, arduous rebuild of the team. Four seasons in and it’s clear that Bradley needed to be released so the team could move on.

Bradley had the worst record in modern NFL history. It was almost time to simply put him out of his misery.

This is nothing personal to Bradley, it’s just business. You must win in the NFL. Shad Khan made that clear in his official statement after releasing Bradley:

"I thanked Gus Bradley today for his commitment to the Jacksonville Jaguars over the past four seasons.  As anyone close to our team knows, Gus gave his staff and players literally everything he had.  Our players competed for Gus and I know they have great respect for him, as do I.Gus also represented the Jaguars, the Jacksonville community and the NFL in nothing less than a first-class manner as our head coach.  That counts for a lot.  It is unfortunately evident that we must make a change.  I thought it would be best to do it immediately after today’s result so Gus can step away, relax and regroup with his family during the Christmas and holiday season.More from Black and TealJacksonville Jaguars should welcome Derrick Henry into the kingdomJaguars Rumors: Trent Baalke seems to be getting respect nowBold trade proposal has Jacksonville Jaguars shipping LT Cam RobinsonJaguars News: This division rival might be making a big moveFormer Jacksonville Jaguars S Johnathan Cyprien: “New Profession, Same Standards”Dave Caldwell agreed and will now be charged with exploring all options to hire the best head coach possible to lead what I feel is an extremely talented team and reward a very loyal and patient fan base in Jacksonville."

While it is doubtful that being fired shortly before Christmas will make the holiday season more enjoyable for Bradley, it is at least some sort of logic behind waiting this long. The firing could have been done much sooner.

The Jags will head back to searching for a head coach, hopefully pulling in someone with the ability to both change the culture of losing over the last decade and bring in key talent in the coaching ranks as well.