The Raiders are expected to ask the Los Angeles Chargers for permission to interview Gus Bradley for the defense coordinator, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
Bradley has been the Chargers’ defense coordinator since 2017, but the sacking of Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn could potentially open the door for a Gruden / Bradley reunion in Las Vegas. While serving as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006, Gruden hired Bradley from the North Dakota state to be his lineout coach.
The Chargers were 10th in the allotted defensive spots (343.3) this year and were in the top-10 in the category under Bradley for three consecutive seasons. They finished 15th in the overall yard in 2017.
The Chargers edition this year was points allowed. They finished 23rd on 26.6 points per game. However, they occupy the 10th place in this category in 2018 on 20.6 points and the 14th place in 2018 on 21.1. Both totals will be a significant upgrade from the 29.9 points the Raiders handed over this year.
After serving as Tampa Bay’s linebacker for two seasons, Bradley moved from 2009 to 2012 as Seahawks’ defense coordinator and helped build the Legion of Boom defense that helped the Seahawks reach two Super Bowls and Super Bowl XLVIII. win.
Bradley, a person with high energy and passionate communication and teacher, also has a good eye for identifying talent and then developing it.
In Seattle, Bradley helped turn Kam Chancellor (KW Wright in the fifth round), KJ Wright (fourth round), Bobby Wagner (second round) and Richard Sherman (fifth round) into defensive stars. In addition, Earl Thomas and Bruce Irvin were the first to round out Bradley’s stay in Seattle.
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