Many have tried and failed, but it is up to Gus Bradley to solve the Raiders’ long-standing defensive problems.
Bradley was hired by coach Jon Gruden on Tuesday as Raiders’ new defense coordinator, the Bay Area News Group has learned. The Raiders confirmed Bradley’s addition to the workforce.
The defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers for the past three years, Bradley succeeds interim coordinator Rod Marinelli, who took over when Paul Guenther was fired with three games remaining in the 2020 season.
Guenther was Gruden’s handpicked choice as defensive coordinator when he returned to coaching in 2018. The Raiders were at the bottom of the NFL’s defensive rankings all season, with Gruden firing Guenther after a 44-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts when both teams were in the playoffs. contenders.
Bradley and former Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard were the only known candidates interviewed.
It’s up to Bradley to upgrade a Raiders defense that has been bad for most of the last quarter century, with a few exceptions. Marinelli is expected to remain on the staff as the defensive line coach.
Bradley, 50, got his first NFL job with Jon Gruden’s staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006 as a quality control coach under Monte Kiffin. Bradley had served as a defensive coordinator in the state of North Dakota.
He advanced to coach linebackers but lost his job when Gruden and the staff were wiped out for a month after losing 31-24 to the Raiders to close the 2008 season.
At Kiffin’s recommendation, Bradley was interviewed by Seattle freshman coach Jim Mora, who was impressed enough to hire him as defensive coordinator.
Monte says, “JL, listen to me, I have a guy here in Tampa who is one of, if not the best football coaches I’ve ever worked with,” Mora told the Seattle Post-Ingelligencer. “He’s an A. -plus. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime coach. You need to talk to him. ”
Although Bradley had no experience as an NFL coordinator, Mora hired him. When he was fired after one season, Bradley retained the position under Pete Carroll.
With the 2009-12 Seahawks, Bradley, led by Carroll, formed a defense with young talent such as Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner. Seattle led the NFL in scoring defense (15.3 points per game) in 2012, going from 7-9 to 11-5.
Bradley then spent four seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville, who went 14-48, before being fired. He then joined Anthony Lynn as the Chargers’ defense coordinator.
Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward told USA Today at the Pro Bowl in 2017 that Bradley got a big thumbs up from Sherman.
‘He just said,’ Man, you’re gonna love this man! You’ll be willing to run through a wall for him because that’s the type of person he is, ”said Hayward. “That got me excited. He said he’s a really good mix for a cornerback because he will mix things up. He plays a few (cover) three, he plays a man. He said Gus will mix things up and apply different kinds of pressure. ”
There are numerous ways to statistically rank a defense, with two of the most basic points allowed and yards allowed.
The Raiders were 30th in points allowed in 2020 and have not been below No. 20 since 2006 when they were No. 18. They are fairly consistently in the 20s in terms of distance, with the highlight being a No. 11 ranking under John Marshall in 2010.
The year 2006 was a statistical fluke as the Raiders were ranked No. 3 in yardage, save for 18th in points allowed. That season, under Art Shell, the Raiders were so bad on offense that opponents realized that once the lead got to 10 points, the game was essentially over and they spent more killing the clock than trying to score .
Only twice in the past 30 years have the Raiders had a top 10 defense in terms of distance and points. They were ninth in points and eighth in yardage in 1996 under the late Fred Whittingham but finished 7-9 largely due to injuries sustained by quarterback Jeff Hostetler.
The other time was 1990, when under Dave Adolph the Raiders were No. 7 in points and No. 4 in yardage. They were 12-4 that season and the defensive staff included Greg Townsend, Howie Long, Jerry Robinson and Terry McDaniel.
Bradley has the following players under contract for 2021, sorted by salary CP number: linebacker Cory Littleton ($ 13.7 million), lock angle Lamarcus Joyner ($ 11.2 million), defensive end Carl Nassib ($ 9.5 million) , defensive end Clelin Ferrell ($ 8.5 million), linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski ($ 7 million).
Other young players among their draft pick contracts likely to set the stage for 2021 include safety Johnathan Abram ($ 3.1 million), cornerback Damon Arnette ($ 3 million), cornerback Trayvon Mullen ($ 1.9 million). ) and defensive end Maxx Crosby ($ 1 million).
The Raiders have spent much more freely on offense than on defense since Gruden’s arrival, and as it stands now, players under contract are worth $ 115.5 million below the salary cap with $ 70.6 allocated for defense according to overthecap.com.
Over the past two seasons, the Raiders made some significant defensive purchases as a free agent, most notably Joyner, Littleton and Nassib, but none had the kind of impact Gruden and Mayock had hoped for.