Gus Bradley
Paul Casey "Gus" Bradley is an American football coach who is the assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks from 2009 to 2012, where he was the original playcaller of the team's Legion of Boom secondary. Bradley later served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 to 2016. After his Jaguars tenure, Bradley was the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Indianapolis Colts before joining the 49ers in 2025.
Early life
Bradley was born on July 5, 1966, in Zumbrota, Minnesota. He was the youngest of six children and played football, basketball, and baseball at Zumbrota High School.College career
Bradley played college football at North Dakota State University from 1984 to 1988, where he was a free safety and punter. Bradley helped the Bison win the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1984, 1987, and 1988, or three of the four years he played. Bradley was also a four-time academic all-North Central Conference selection.Bradley earned bachelor's degrees in business administration and physical education from North Dakota State as well as a master's degree in athletic administration from NDSU in 1992.
Coaching career
Early coaching career
Bradley joined the North Dakota State Bison as a graduate assistant coach in 1990 and was there until 1991. He was the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Fort Lewis College from 1992 to 1995 and spent four months as the team's head coach from December 1995 to March 1996. From 1996 to 2005, Bradley returned to North Dakota State and coached in many positions including defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, and assistant head coach to Bob Babich and Craig Bohl. Under Bradley's guidance, North Dakota State's defense led the Great West Football Conference in scoring defense, pass defense, total defense and turnover margin in 2005.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In 2006, Bradley joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defensive quality control coach, working closely with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin in the organization and implementation of the defensive game plan. In 2007, Bradley was promoted to linebackers coach after previous linebackers coach Joe Barry left to become defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Under Bradley's guidance, linebacker Barrett Ruud went on to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Month in September after leading the Buccaneers defense with 51 tackles, aninterception, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two pass deflections.Seattle Seahawks
On January 12, 2009, the Seattle Seahawks hired Bradley to become the team's defensive coordinator. He was recommended for the job by former Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.In 2009, under Bradley's guidance the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 356.4 yards and to score 24.4 points per game. The Seahawks finished the season with a 5–11 record, and subsequently replaced head coach Jim L. Mora with Pete Carroll. Carroll decided to keep Bradley for the 2010 season; the two coaches have a common connection with Kiffin.
In 2010, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 368.6 yards and to score 25.4 points per game.
In 2011, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 332.2 yards and to score 19.7 points per game.
In 2012, the Seahawks' defense allowed opponents to gain 306.2 yards per game and to score 15.3 points per game.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On January 17, 2013, Bradley was hired as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. His first regular season win came on November 10, 2013 with a 29–27 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars ended the season 4–12, and Bradley was eventually named the head coach of the South team in the 2014 Senior Bowl.On December 18, 2016, the Jaguars relieved Bradley of his duties as head coach, compiling a 14–48 record in less than four seasons.
Los Angeles Chargers
On January 20, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers hired Bradley as defensive coordinator under head coach Anthony Lynn. After a 2017 season that saw the defense allow 17 points per game, the third-fewest in the NFL, Bradley received a three-year contract extension in January 2018.Las Vegas Raiders
On January 12, 2021, Bradley was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders to be their defensive coordinator under head coach Jon Gruden, replacing Paul Guenther, who was fired during the 2020 season.Indianapolis Colts
On February 4, 2022, Bradley was hired by the Indianapolis Colts as their defensive coordinator under head coach Frank Reich.On March 7, 2023, after Reich was fired and Bradley's defense struggled, the Colts announced that they would be retaining Bradley as defensive coordinator under newly hired head coach Shane Steichen. Notably, Steichen and Bradley worked together during their time with the Los Angeles Chargers. On January 11, 2024, Colts general manager Chris Ballard announced that Bradley would again return for the 2024 NFL season, after the Colts defense struggled in some areas but ranked 5th in sacks, 16th in takeaways, but just 28th in points during the 2023 NFL season. On January 6, 2025, after a long and difficult year in which Bradley’s defense ranked bottom five in most categories, the Colts announced they had fired Bradley after three years as defensive coordinator. He was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo