HOUSTON (AP) – The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Gus Bradley on Sunday, ending one of the least successful coaching tenures in NFL history.
Owner Shad Khan announced the decision following a 21-20 loss at Houston, in which the Jaguars (2-12) blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. Khan considered the move in late October, following a debacle at Tennessee on national television, but opted to keep Bradley for seven more weeks. During that time, Jacksonville lost to backup quarterbacks Tom Savage (Houston), Paxton Lynch (Denver) and Nick Foles (Kansas City).
Bradley went 14-48 in four seasons in Jacksonville, the worst winning percentage (.225) of any NFL coach with at least 60 games.
The Jaguars were supposed to be considerably improved this season, time for Bradley’s always-positive approach to pay off with a much-improved roster. Khan spent big in free agency for the second straight year and felt he had all the pieces in place for a playoff push. Even before the free-agent frenzy, Khan said a winning record was “everybody’s reasonable expectation at this point.”
Instead, the Jaguars have lost nine in a row. It’s the longest, single-season losing streak in franchise history.
“I don’t know, really, for anybody in this locker room how much more frustrated you can be,” quarterback Blake Bortles said. “Once again we had all the opportunities in the world, chances in the fourth quarter to score, and we just don’t do it.”
Bradley flew home on the team charter. General manager Dave Caldwell will name an interim coach for the final two games Monday. It’s likely to be offensive line coach Doug Marrone or defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker.
“I thanked Gus Bradley today for his commitment to the Jacksonville Jaguars over the past four seasons,” Khan said in a statement. “As anyone close to our team knows, Gus gave his staff and players literally everything he had. Our players competed for Gus and I know they have great respect for him, as do I.”
Khan added that he and Caldwell will “be charged with exploring all options to hire the best head coach possible to lead what I feel is an extremely talented team and reward a very loyal and patient fan base in Jacksonville.”
A former Seattle defensive coordinator who had no head coaching experience when Khan hired him in 2013, Bradley spent his first two years in rebuilding mode. Bradley and Caldwell overhauled a talent-starved roster, revamping it through the draft and then supplementing it in free agency. The Jaguars spent more than $350 million (nearly $150 million guaranteed) the last two years in free agency, bringing in an influx of starters who were supposed to make a difference.
Instead, the Jaguars showed little improvement, at least in the win-loss column.
Photo credit – David J. Philip / Associated Press / Houston, TX
