In-depth ANALYSIS of The Titans’ DC Hire: Gus Bradley
Paul Spinelli / Associated Press
Written by Brody Rupert (Contributor to SharmSports)
The Tennessee Titans and head coach Robert Saleh have finally named their next defensive coordinator, and it turns out he is going for his coworker in San Francisco, Gus Bradley. In the 2025 season, Bradley was the assistant head coach on a 12-5 49ers team after spending many years in other organizations as a defensive coordinator. Let’s dive into his long history of coaching and what he brings to the Titans!
Bradley got his first gig in the NFL back in 2006, where he was named the defensive quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Monte Kiffin and was promoted to linebacker coach one year later.
It only took Bradley two years as a linebacker coach before he landed his first role as a defensive coordinator, as he was hired by the Seattle Seahawks prior to the 2009 NFL season. While that role started out with the Seahawks having a bottom-ten defense in 2009, he got better each year, before leading the number-one scoring defense in 2012 and the 7th-best the previous season, kicking off the Legion of Boom era in Seattle. This made him a name to watch out for as a head coach in the offseason.
On January 17th, 2013, Bradley would be hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as their head coach. He would retain that role for almost four seasons, compiling an extremely poor 14-28 record before being fired with two games remaining in the 2016 NFL season. This is the lowest win percentage (.226) of someone coaching 50+ games in the Super Bowl Era.
Some coaches just are not head coach material. After all, Josh McDaniels is the offensive coordinator for the AFC champion Patriots after flaming out twice as a head coach. This would not deter Bradley either, as he would soon be hired by the Los Angeles Chargers only a few days after they moved from San Diego. He would spend a total of four seasons being their defensive coordinator, where he would lead a top ten scoring defense twice in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
After his second contract with the Chargers expired, Bradley was brought in by Jon Gruden to be the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders. Despite only coaching in Vegas for one season due to the firing of Gruden, Bradley improved the defense over the course of the season and was critical to their 10-7 record and playoff appearance. The defense overall was not great, being a bottom-half unit, but Bradley left his touch on them.
Prior to the 2022 season, Bradley got his most recent job as a coordinator, being hired by the Indianapolis Colts. He survived a coaching change after the firing of Frank Reich after one season, and would coach with them until the end of the 2024 season. His tenure in Indianapolis wasn’t anything to be overly impressed by, as they ranked in the bottom half of defenses for most of his time. He would get fired after the 2024 season, where they were in the bottom five in most categories.
Most recently, Bradley was the assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, where he would assist both Robert Saleh and head coach Kyle Shanahan with game plan and make important defensive decisions. This got the attention of Saleh, and he would move to Tennessee with him.
Bradley is coming to Tennessee as one of the most experienced and decorated defensive coordinator prospects in the NFL. This is his 20th year in the NFL landscape, and he spent 15 years in college football prior to working his way up from a graduate assistant to an assistant head coach.
He brings expertise and veteran leadership to a young and poorly constructed Titans defense and should help develop and improve it nicely while taking some of the responsibilities off of Robert Saleh.
This is also a lower-pressure role for Bradley, as he will not be calling the plays, allowing him to focus on gameplanning, decision-making, and development. He is taking a lighter workload and fewer responsibilities than he did during his poor execution with the Colts.
Bradley historically runs a similar defensive scheme to Saleh, as both utilize a 4-3 with low blitz rates, heavy zone coverage, and often a weak-side “Leo” edge rusher. This is a system credited to the Seattle Seahawks and former head coach Pete Carroll – a system they both spent time in.
This should be a role that Gus Bradley is able to thrive in.
Written by Brody Rupert
Contributor for SharmSports
