JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – "Gus is who the Jaguars need now and in the future.”
On Jan. 17, 2013 those were the words spoken by Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell. The hiring of Gus Bradley was supposed to be a next piece in the Jaguars' rebuilding plan. At the time, Caldwell had only been on the job for a little over a week.
Bradley was in hot demand after spending four seasons in Seattle, where the Seahawks had arguably the top defense in the NFL.
"I am very proud to accept the offer to be the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars," Bradley said in the team's statement. "(Owner) Shad Khan and Dave Caldwell expect to win, and that's what I wanted to hear. That's why I am coming to Jacksonville -- to win a Super Bowl.”
After producing only 14 wins in nearly four full seasons in Jacksonville, Bradley was relieved of his coaching duties following Sunday’s 21-20 loss to the Houston Texans. The Jaguars' ninth straight loss is the longest streak in franchise history as they fell to a record of 2-12.
MORE: Complete coverage of Bradley's firing |
IMAGES: Jaguars head coaches through the years
Bradley inherited a roster that wasn’t fit to compete in the NFL, and it showed in his first season. The Jaguars opened 2013 with eight straight losses. His first win came following the bye week when the Jaguars beat Tennessee on the road 29-27.
After a loss in week 11 against Arizona, the Jaguars rolled off three straight wins against Houston, Cleveland and Houston again. That three-game winning streak would be the longest during his tenure in Jacksonville.
From Day 1 Caldwell and Bradley adopted a plan to strip down the Jaguars' roster and build it back up through the draft. After winning only four games in 2013, the Jaguars won just three times in 2014.
Before that season started, the Jaguars selected quarterback Blake Bortles with the No. 3 overall pick. Their original plan was for Bortles to spend his rookie season on the bench behind Chad Henne. That plan lasted all of three weeks. Bortles saw his first game action in the Jaguars' 44-17 Week 3 loss to Indianapolis. Bortles made his first NFL start a week later in a 33-14 loss to San Diego.
As rookies tend to do in the NFL, Bortles struggled mightily his first season. He was sacked 55 times and finished with 11 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
If there was a high point of Bradley’s tenure in Jacksonville, it would’ve been the 2015 season. The Jaguars began the season 1-1 before losing five straight. It was around this time that rumors about Bradley’s job status started to surface.
However, the team responded with a 34-31 win over Buffalo, which was the Jaguars' first win in London. The Jaguars would finish the 2015 season with a 5-11 record. There were some good signs, however, as Bortles threw for 35 touchdowns and 4,428 yards. Also on that side of the ball, receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns had developed into one of the best tandems in the NFL.
At that point, the chatter surrounding Bradley was growing louder, but owner Shad Khan quieted the noise by extending Bradley's contract by one year in January 2016.
Khan did however say that the Jaguars needed to be better than they were in 2015 and that a winning record in 2016 is “everybody’s reasonable expectation.”
During Bradley’s first three seasons, the Jaguars were hesitant to spend big money on free agents. That changed in the summer of 2016. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson was brought over from Denver and free safety Tashaun Gipson from Cleveland. In the 2016 draft, the Jaguars selected cornerback Jalen Ramsey in the first round and linebacker Myles Jack in the second round.
Those additions along with Bortles entering his third season led to higher expectations for the Jaguars. Not having enough talent was no longer an excuse.
The results on the field didn’t change much the next season. In what would become a theme of the 2016 season the Jaguars were more competitive but simply couldn’t find a way to win close games. It started with a 27-23 loss to Green Bay on opening day.
Week 2 resulted in an embarrassing 38-14 loss at San Diego. The next week Bortles’ struggles continued and the Jaguars lost another close game at home, falling to Baltimore 19-17.
The Jaguars picked up their first win of the season in London against the Colts, and they followed that up with a come-from-behind win against Chicago in week six. That put the Jaguars' record at 2-3, and it was reasonable that they could still make a playoff run.
Nine straight losses later, Khan decided he’d seen enough and relieved Bradley of his head coaching duties.