Many have tried and failed, but it is up to Gus Bradley to solve the Raiders’ longstanding defensive problems.
Bradley was hired by coach Jon Gruden on Tuesday as the new defensive coordinator for the Raiders, the Bay Area News Group learns. The Raiders confirmed Bradley’s addition to the team.
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 left for the 2020 season.
Guenther was handpicked by Gruden as a defensive coordinator when he returned to coaching in 2018. The Raiders were at the bottom of the NFL’s defensive standings all season, with Gruden firing Guenther after a 44-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts , when both teams were in the playoff contenders.
Bradley and former Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard were the only known candidates to be interviewed.
It is up to Bradley to update a defense of the Raiders that has been poor for most of the past quarter century, with only a few exceptions. Marinelli must remain on the team as a defensive line coach.
Bradley, 50, landed his first NFL job on Jon Gruden’s team with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006 as a quality control coach under Mount Kiffin. Bradley served as a defensive coordinator in the state of North Dakota.
He was promoted to linebacker coach, but lost his job when Gruden and the team were eliminated a month after a 31-24 loss to the Raiders at the end of the 2008 season.
On Kiffin’s recommendation, Bradley got an interview with Seattle’s first-year coach, Jim Mora, who was impressed enough to hire him as a defensive coordinator.
“Monte says,` JL, listen to me, I have a guy here in Tampa who’s one of the best football coaches I’ve ever worked with, “Mora told the Seattle Post-Ingelligencer. “He’s an A-plus. He’s a unique trainer. You need to talk to him. ”
Although Bradley had no experience as an NFL coordinator, Mora hired him. When Bradley was fired after one season, he retained the position under Pete Carroll.
With the 2009-12 Seahawks, Bradley, under Carroll’s guidance, shaped a defense that included young talents like Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner. Seattle led the NFL in defending scores (15.3 points per game) in 2012 and went from 7-9 to 11-5.
Bradley spent four seasons as a Jacksonville coach, going 14-48, before being fired. He then joined Anthony Lynn as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator.
Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward told USA Today at the 2017 Pro Bowl that Bradley received a big thumbs up from Sherman.
“He just said, ‘Dude, you’re going to love this guy! You’ll be willing to walk through a wall for him, because that’s the kind of person he is, ”said Hayward. “It got me excited. He said it is a very good mix for a cornerback because he mixes things up. He will play some (cover) three, he will play some man. He said that Gus will mix things up and bring different pressures ”.
There are countless ways to statistically classify a defense, with two of the most basic points allowed and yards allowed.
Raiders were 30th in permitted points in 2020 and have not been below 20th position since 2006, when they were in 18th position. They consistently ranked in their 20s in terms of yards, with the outlier ranking 11th under John Marshall in 2010.
The year 2006 was a statistical fluke, as the Raiders, besides being 18th in allowed points, were in 3rd place in yards. That season, under Art Shell, the Raiders were so bad in attack that opponents realized that when the advantage reached 10 points, the game was essentially over and they spent more on killing the clock than trying to score.
Only twice in the past 30 years have Raiders defended in the top 10 in terms of yards and points. They were ninth in points and eighth in yards in 1996 under the late Fred Whittingham, but finished 7-9 largely due to injuries sustained by quarterback Jeff Hostetler.
The other time was in 1990, when under Dave Adolph, the Raiders occupied the 7th place in points and the 4th in yards. They were 12-4 that season and the defense team included Greg Townsend, Howie Long, Jerry Robinson and Terry McDaniel.
Bradley has the following players hired for 2021, ranked by cp number salary: linebacker Cory Littleton ($ 13.7 million), slot corner Lamarcus Joyner ($ 11.2 million), defensive side Carl Nassib ($ 9.5 million), defensive side Clelin Ferrell ($ 8.5 million), linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski ($ 7 million).
Other young players under their draft-pick contracts that are likely to be key players for 2021 include safety Johnathan Abram ($ 3.1 million), cornerback Damon Arnette ($ 3 million), cornerback Trayvon Mullen ($ 1.9 million) ) and Maxx Crosby ($ 1 million).
Raiders have spent much more freely on attack than on defense since Gruden arrived and, as it stands, contracted players account for $ 115.5 million under the salary cap, with $ 70.6 allocated to defense according to overthecap.com.
In the past two seasons, the Raiders have made some significant defensive signings as a free agent, most notably Joyner, Littleton and Nassib, but none have had the kind of impact Gruden and Mayock expected.