USA Today Sports
The Raiders hired Gus Bradley on Tuesday to take over as defense coordinator, and Bradley said he wants Las Vegas to be a fast-paced and physical defense that generates takeaways.
While the Raiders have invested heavily in their defense through the draft and free agency over the past two seasons, the team still finished 30th in points allowed in 2020.
Jon Gruden, who is entering the fourth season of his second term as Raiders head coach, is not looking for Bradley to be the only solution to all the defensive issues.
“I don’t think one guy is going to correct the defense,” Gruden said via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com. “We’re all going to fix it. We have a young team and this guy is a great motivator and a great teacher. He’s going to learn a system that won a world championship, that he developed. ”
Tafur reports that Raiders will appoint former Chargers defense coach Ron Milus and Richard Smith, who worked under Bradley in Los Angeles. Although Bradley is known for using a Cover 3-based scheme, he said Tuesday that the system is multiple and customizable.
‘I’m not going to talk in statistics and all that stuff, but I like the results over time and how he adjusted it. Every year he presents it a little differently. It is healthy and it is a teachable system, ”Gruden said. ‘You can find young players quickly. You can insert players and locate quickly, that’s what I really like. And it has a history of work. ”
It takes not just one person, but the Raiders need Bradley’s system to be effective with their staff to reach the national season.