Gus Bradley has been hired as defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders is officially underway. The team hired Bradley today according to the Raiders social media account. This comes just eight days after Los Angeles Chargers parted ways with former head coach Anthony Lynn.
Welcome to Las Vegas, Coach.
We have hired Gus Bradley as our defensive coordinator » https://t.co/8xRvXKpKnH pic.twitter.com/trpr74atDI
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) January 12, 2021
Gus Bradley Hired by Las Vegas Raiders
Gus Bradley was initially brought in brought in by Anthony Lynn to revamp the Chargers defense back in 2017. Unfortunately, his tenure in Los Angeles was marred by injury after injury on defense. During his first season with the Chargers, the defense managed to limit opponents to 17 points per game.
This seems like a particularly safe hire from the outside looking in. Gus Bradley has been known to run a lot of Cover 3 in his defenses. Cover 3 is a type of zone defense where there are three defensive backs that divide the field into three portions. Each defensive back will play zone coverage in their area, thus attempting to cover the entire field. The underneath defenders, typically linebackers, will play in zone coverage as well. This type of scheme relies heavily on the defensive line generating pressure on their own.
Gus Bradley will take over for former defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. The Raiders finished 30th in points allowed this season. This was clearly a step back, as the team finished 24th in points allowed the year prior. It is unclear at this time if interim defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will remain with the staff.
The Raiders defense could use an upgrade at just about every single position. The team has struggled to get to the quarterback since trading away Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. To make matters worse, they have gotten little to no production from early first round pick Clelin Ferrell. Gus Bradley will have the tough task of turning around a defense that has been historically bad for over a decade now.
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