Jaguars fire Gus Bradley, former Seahawks coach

Shortly after losing his 48th game in four years, Gus Bradley was fired as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, per several reports. The Jaguars blew a 20-8 lead against the Houston Texans on Sunday, finished off by a Lamar Miller touchdown run to put the Texans up 21-20 for good. A win likely gives Bradley another week or two of life, but probably not much more than that anyway.

Bradley went 14-48 in four seasons, the second-worst winning percentage in NFL history (minimum 50 games) ahead of only Bert Bell (went 10-46).

As defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks from 2010-2012, Bradley helped guide the defense to being number one in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed during his final season at the position before being hired by Jacksonville to replace Mike Mularkey, who went 2-14 in his only season there. (Mularkey is currently 8-6 with the Tennessee Titans this season following a comeback, upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.)

Bradley’s best season was a 5-11 finish in 2015. The offense made small improvements along the way but surprisingly the defense was consistently among the worst in the NFL. With quarterback Blake Bortles regressing this season to be in the conversation as “Worst Starter in Football,” the Jaguars moved back to fall to 2-12 and are certain to be picking in the top five in the draft for the sixth straight year and in the top 10 for the 10th straight year. The players picked in those spots by Jacksonville have combined for 0 Pro Bowls and include names like Blaine Gabbert, Justin Blackmon, Luke Joeckel, Derrick Harvey, and Bortles.

Now it seems that Bradley will be back on the market for a defensive coordinator position. If Kris Richard picks up a job somewhere (it seems likely that he’d at least draw some interest for an interview), there is certainly a chance that Pete Carroll would call his old buddy and see where his head’s at. It would at least ensure that the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator isn’t leaving for a head coaching job anytime soon. Obviously, Bradley may also sit out a year and check on the job market at the college level.

It appears that not only is general manager Dave Caldwell keeping his job, but is leading the search for the next head coach.