APUsually, if a coach goes 12-36 in his first three years, he’s not going to stick around for a fourth year. In Jacksonville, that record was enough to earn Gus Bradley a contract extension.
The Jaguars announced today that Bradley has been given a one-year extension.
“For an organization that we believe is ready to make its move, extending Gus through the 2017 season provides our club with much-needed stability in every respect,” General Manager Dave Caldwell said in a statement. “It solidifies Gus’ good standing with our current players, provides certainty for free agents who may be considering the Jaguars and helps to deliver the continuity throughout our coaching staff that we think is critical for us to turn the corner. It also gives us the best opportunity to win in 2016. I appreciate Shad supporting this approach as we enter a pivotal season with high expectations at every level of the organization.”
Some other coaches who were hired the same year as Bradley must be wondering why they couldn’t get that kind of support. The Browns hired Rob Chudzinski the same year as the Jaguars hired Bradley and Cleveland has already fired both Chudzinski and Chudzinski’s successor, Mike Pettine — even though the Browns are 14-34 since 2013, two games better than the Jaguars.
The Bears hired Marc Trestman the same year the Jaguars hired Bradley. Trestman won more games in two seasons than Bradley has won in three, and Trestman was fired after two seasons.
The Eagles hired Chip Kelly the same year the Jaguars hired Bradley. Kelly won more than twice as many games as Bradley but was fired with a 26-21 record.
But the Jaguars insist they’re making progress with Bradley at the helm. If that progress doesn’t mean a playoff berth in 2016, it’s hard to see how they could justify bringing Bradley back in 2017.
The Jaguars also announced that defensive line coach/run game coordinator Todd Wash has been promoted to defensive coordinator, Tony Sorrentino was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach, Aaron Whitecotton was promoted to assistant defensive line coach and Daniel Bullocks has been hired as assistant defensive backs coach. Jacksonville also promoted Mark Ellenz from regional scout to director of college scouting.
So the Jaguars think they’re heading in the right direction and have the right people in place. Even if the standings say otherwise.
They are a piece or 2 away from making some serious noise. The record doesn’t tell the entire story.
Jaguars haven’t been a a coach away from a better record. It is an issue of talent. They’re starting to get better talent and I’m intrigued by what Bradley can do with this team over the coming years. If we could evaluate coaches or players for that matter by just win/loss records anyone could run a team.
In 1964, despite a 13-38-3 record, the Cowboys extended Tom Landry’s contract. Not saying that Bradley is Landry by any stretch of the imagination, and I actually hate the Cowboys, but I’m growing tired of this “quick fix” society.
“So the Jaguars think they’re heading in the right direction and have the right people in place. Even if the standings say otherwise.”
Not a Jags fan but their thinking is right. They have turned the roster over and are building a new culture, it doesn’t happen overnight. Things are different with that team, there’s no quit in them and they are definitely headed in the right direction. Khan seems to understand that while Rome wasn’t built in a day it was burnt down in one.
A team with patience… OMG
Trying to piss off everyone in Jacksonville with terrible records so he’ll have an excuse to move the franchise to London
And then there’s four franchises — the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars — who have never been to the Super Bowl.
So when he is 16-48 will he get another extension? The evidence would seem to support it
I love how analysts crap on teams that have no patience and then crap on teams that do have patience.
the teams you mentioned are no better for having hired and fired those mentioned. the jags have continuity in coaching, and most importantly for their young qb, continuity in offensive approach. ask qbs what learning a new playbook and having a new coordinator every year has done for them
They finally got some talent.
And one of those wins was a loss against the Ravens so even those numbers are skewed.
They realize the available replacements aren’t any better.
Sometimes I hate the media, with its forced narratives. I have seen several article on here talking up consistency, and how teams like the Browns should look to successful teams and see they don’t constantly bring in new coaches and front office people.
Then you get this story, and it essentially asks why the Jags are keeping their coach if he did not win. Maybe the reasons are the ones above, the ones this site has been talking about?
There is something to be said about patience and continuity. The NFL is usually way too reactionary. Remember when everyone was calling for Ron Rivera’s head a few years back? Good on you, Jags.
Stability brings success in ways that change does not.
Young QB in Bortles that has shown major progress. Talent is beginning to be placed around him. Defense was better this year than last. I think they are heading in the right direction, I think it was a good decision.
But lets face it, a ONE year extension, is as much a warning as it is a vote of confidence. I think it’s very fair to say Gus is probably starting this year with his behind squarely on a hot place.
Normally id complain and say this is why they have that bogus rooney rule. But I like the patience the jags are taking unlike Tampa. They have a division there for the taking and have just as good a chance to win that division next year. They have a very young team that will learn how to start and finish games.
Eye test shows this team is much improved over years past. Bradley has them moving in the right direction and is building a team around Gabbert and the young receivers he has on that team.
This team did lose a fair amount of games but they’ve been much more competitive and are on the brink of a winning season.
BWHAHAHA!!!
Jags have 2 really good receivers and a QB who has shown real potential but at the same time is an INT machine.
Very mediocre in alot of other areas.
They have shown some “fight” in them – but that is also watered down due to the pathetic division and schedule they played this year.
They are being given too much of a free pass on how drastic the “rebuild” is. They should be further along.
Drafting as high as they do every year – they SHOULD get better…but this is still an 8-8 team at best.
People thinking they are going to be the next up and coming good young team are wrong.
They have seen progress every year. They won 2 games and it’s been going up. They play in a terrible division, Tenn is not commited to winning, Houston doesn’t have a QB, Indi is Andrew Luck only. They should be able to fight for the division.
I approve although no one has asked me.
Are you seriously actually implying that the BROWNS are in a better position than the Jags because they’re now on their third coach in four years. Come on. Just because they’ve won 2 more games over the last 3 years doesn’t mean the Browns have it more right than the Jags.
Draft 3 hall of fame players this year, and this could be a good team.
Draft well and the wins will come
He is a good man and I hope the team turns the corner.
Progress might not be showing so much in the wins and losses, but it is showing on the field. They have looked more and more competitive each year with Bradley. Sure, there have been some bad breaks and the team hasn’t had quite enough firepower to easily overcome them, but next season they get Fowler back as well as another high pick to help make a difference on defense.
Recent off seasons it has felt like Jacksonville is a team poised on the edge of a return to relevance, and it is only a matter of time before they turn that corner.
Don’t overstate the meaning of this.
A one year extension doesn’t scream “confidence”. It simply says “we don’t want to saddle our franchise with all of the problems that come having a lame duck coach”.
Having a coach with no contract past the end of the season is ALWAYS a bad idea. Players tend to take them less seriously, free agents shy away, morale is down because everyone is uncertain about the future, and the media hovers constantly- seizing on every little tidbit of information that suggests dysfunction.
Ask the Colts how much fun it is trying to be competitive with a lame duck coach.
I wonder what his minimum win total will be to stay on next year. I would think 7-9 is a win
NFL owners split the revenue anyways, that’s why you can have perpetual losers like the Jags, Browns, Titans etc. Win or lose the billionaire owner gets richer.
This is also why the owners do not care about the refs being ordered to rig games so the most profitable outcome for the NFL happens. It is a WWE entertainment product to make money for the people who own the company.
Money is the only thing money grubbers care about. Not sports they have never played. (Sports involve effort which is often the same as work, something no billionaire has ever done in their scummy underhanded parasitic lives)
Gluttons for punishment.
Not a Jags fan at all, but this new owner is the best thing that ever happened to the team.
He gets it.
He’s putting all the pieces in place. The total opposite of what’s going on in Cleveland.
Bravo Mr. Khan.
Remarkable patience from the owner. Are you watching this, Jimmy Haslam?
Not sure what why this site is dumping on Bradley all of a sudden just because of the Jags’ record. Jacksonville was a complete dumpster fire when he arrived, it takes time to build up from that and anyone who paid attention could clearly see the progress being made this season.
I could understand if this site wrote this piece as a comparison to Mike Zimmer of the historic Vikings dynasty, but no coach is going to look good going up against that. Bradley will never be able to even come close to lifting the Jaguars anywhere near the dominant levels of the historic Vikings franchise, obviously, but you can’t deny he has Jacksonville moving in the right direction.
The roster has been awful. Can’t blame him for the record. It’s taken years to fix the mess Gene Smith left.
…….the Jags SHOULD be the surprise team to make the playoffs next year like the Redskins, Texans, and Vikings were this year. The only problem Gus Bradley may run into is, it only took one or two years for Gruden, O’Brien, and Turner to turn their franchises around.
Just curious if the losers who got mad about me stating the facts are mad because they want to pretend that the NFL doesn’t order refs to steer games towards their desired most profitable outcomes (ie do whatever they can to ensure they continue to profit like all non-fictional businesses), or mad because they want to pretend that there is a billionaire on earth who is anything other than a blood sucking money grubbing lying manipulative leech who has never worked (labored, the only source of physical wealth on earth) in their lives, and thinks they are better than all of the people they parasitically and criminally live off?
Sorry to break it to you but Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are not altruists who care about you, and if you think they are because you want to soak up and believe in the fictional nonsense their “public relations” (propaganda) departments pay worthless sell out prostitute “newspapers” to print as if it was “news” or true, get evaluated for brain damage.
I still miss Gus on the Hawks but I’ve seen him make a lot of progress with the Jags that isn’t reflected by their record. They have a solid QB with a couple of respectable receivers in Hurns and Robinson. They have a decent run game and a respectable defensive core. With a couple more pieces in place they just may be a threat in their division in the not too distant future. Hang in their Jag fans, these things take time.
Good to see Bradley get an extension. The Jags are definitely making solid improvements.
This optimism about the Jags is kind of funny.
I know no one wants to admit it, but a healthy Luck is going to put the AFCS on lock down.
The Texans are a QB away from not being a joke.
The Titans have a QB and some D talent.
The Jags have a 12-36 coach. BTW the Jags have been drafting high for the last 15 years. There’s talent there, it just hasn’t’ been pieced together with much thought. The Jags might get it together, but they might not.
Downvote me if being told that Santa doesn’t exist makes you mad.
Talk about a team who doesn’t want their fan base to miss them when they move to London.
Well sure, Jags fans don’t want to hear it but have you learned nothing from the NFL and Stan Kroenke? The writing is all over the wall. They are the team that has been designated to move to London so they need to be bad to help justify it. Kahn will need to become public enemy number one in Jacksonville, watch it happen.
You know why? They keep losing and they get to be The London Jaguars in a few years.
I always read the comments on any Jaguars story, and I’m glad to see people are beginning to see what is happening in Jacksonville and the type of owner we have. While a new coach wouldn’t put our roster back to the dumpster fire it was when the rebuild began, the change in continuity wouldn’t be good for a young QB who showed much progress last year. While I expected a better season last year, we were in every game up to the end except for 3.
Jags and Raiders are alot alike:
-Struggle on defense (mainly in the secondary).
-Have young QBs who took a big step forward in their second year.
-Are building their team the right way through the draft and not overpaying mediocre free agents.
-Are building around their star players.
-Are in a division that are about to be up for grabs next year
-Are a few pieces away from making a legitimate run.
Its good to see my Raiders and other teams thatve been at the bottom for so long to finally make some noise.
Shad Khan didn’t turn $500 into $5 billion by being stupid.
They are a lot better that the Eagles who rather let a bean counter run the franchise instead of hiring a good coach.
They are a piece or 2 away from making some serious noise. The record doesn’t tell the entire story.
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You can’t be serious? Yes, the record does tell their story given how mediocre division was this past season.
I think anyone who watches the NFL and knows what poor talent the Jaguars had in the last maybe 10 years. They now have such a young talented core that is maybe 2 defensive pieces away from competing, I actually think they will be in true contention for the AFC South next year. The injury to their 2015 3rd overall pick was a set back but he could be a game changer 2016.
A one year extension doesn’t scream “confidence”. It simply says “we don’t want to saddle our franchise with all of the problems that come having a lame duck coach”.
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At least someone gets it. Means the same for his assistants as well and who would want to stay in a place knowing they may be looking for a job next offseason. A one-year contract also says that if there’s no significant improvement by this team at least by mid-season, Bradley will be gone…..
A one-year extension basically constitutes being put on notice. If ownership was really sold on him they would have extended him longer term. I wouldn’t delete my realtor from speed dial just yet if I were Gus.
That headline is practically begging for people to come on here and mock the Jaguars.
I’ll defer to the smarter Jags fans and listen to what they think. Seems like the non-“omg fire everybody” crowd all supports the extension.
Shad Khan didn’t turn $500 into $5 billion by being stupid.
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And for some, winning in the NFL (especially winning a championship) is more difficult than turning $500 into $5 billion……
NFL teams in Florida are a complete disaster however the Bucs & Jags have possible future QB’s, the Dolphins still actually believe Turnoverhill is the future.
Yes i’m a Dolphins fan, we’re doomed until we get a new owner.
This is the same team who fired Tom Coughlin. The Jags’ owner at the time said it was the worst mistake he ever made in his life.
And now Coughlin is available. And you go with a guy who lost 36 of his 48 games?
Wow.
For those starting with the “Move to London” nonsense, the difference is Kroenke never spent a dime on the St. Louis facilities whereas Khan has spent millions of his own money fixing up the stadium, putting in swimming pools in the stadium, building a state of the art practice facility, AND proposing a multimillion dollar shipyard project. In addition, the city government is a partner with him and the fans are supportive and there hasn’t been a blackout in YEARS.
Who knows what the long term future holds, but the Jaguars are going to be in Jacksonville for a long time.
Why would you get rid of a good coach? You win with talent. They have a good QB, but he’s still learning. They need a few more pieces and they’ll be ok. If the GM doesn’t provide those pieces, that’s not the coach’s fault. But Jacksonville’s arrow is definitely pointing up. As we’re seeing with the final four teams this year, you need a great QB. Jacksonville looks like they just might have one of those.
Championship!
Nice guy but man if you can’t get more than 3 or 4 wins a year in the worst division in football…..
Good move, they are moving in the right direction……….he is a much better coach than Jack Del Rio……….The Raiders were stupid to get rid of Huge Jackson. If they had kept him and Palmer, they would already be in the playoffs. Jacksonville is getting better, up and coming team.
jagsfan1 says:
Jan 22, 2016 9:17 AM
Jags have 2 really good receivers and a QB who has shown real potential but at the same time is an INT machine.
Very mediocre in alot of other areas.
Drafting as high as they do every year – they SHOULD get better…but this is still an 8-8 team at best.
People thinking they are going to be the next up and coming good young team are wrong.
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1. I remember when everyone was calling Andy Dalton an “INT machine”. His 2013 season was very similar to the season Bortles just had. Ton of yards and TD’s, but he also threw 20 INTs. Dalton was an MVP candidate this year. Have patience. Bortles is a good one.
2. As a Bengals fan who lived through the 90’s, I can relate. But you have to see the positives. The Jags have a QB. That’s the toughest part and it’s already out of the way. They have a ton of weapons. That’s a weak division. With a strong FA class and a couple strong contributors from the draft, they will be in the thick of things and could surprise. If they don’t, THEN I’d be calling for the coach’s head.
The Jags have made progress under Bradley. I mean this is a team that was almost completely devoid of talent when he arrived and now they certainly have some building blocks (Bortles and Robinson especially). I don’t think it’s good for anyone to have a lame duck leading the team. And they especially do not want to become the Browns. Turnover has definitely hurt that team.
I was happy the Jaguars didn’t fire Gus Bradley this year. I hope they start to win this year because of the patience they have shown in not firing a coach every 2 years.
The Bucs have been on a fire the coach every 2 years trend recently. We also have a lot more talent overall than the Jaguars, yet we’re right around the same on the rebuild schedule.
Props to the Jaguars for having the humility and patience to accept the fact that they’d made major mistakes in the past and cannot shuffle through coach after coach and expect to fix them. This is a long rebuild and unlike teams like the Browns or my Bucs, they get that. This is the right move and should be recognized as such.
Firing Coaches in the NFL is pandemic. The lack of patience in the league is awful. Jacksonville has done things the right way since firing Mularkey and Smith. They gutted the roster, they drafted some studs on offense, and now they need to add some defensive pieces and they will have a very competitive team. Caldwell and Bradley have made mistakes, and they may not be the guys but they are building a very good core and giving them more time is only in the Jaguars benefit.
So are they ever gonna cut bait on Justin Blackmon or are they gonna just keep paying him millions to not do anything but get himself arrested?
bassplucker says:
Jan 22, 2016 11:36 AM
So are they ever gonna cut bait on Justin Blackmon or are they gonna just keep paying him millions to not do anything but get himself arrested?
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Players don’t get paid when they’re suspended.
Good move. I like Bortles, Robinson and Hurns. Add this years #5 overall, plus Fowler, who literally got injured at the first practice, and this team is going the right direction.
Could be worse they could have chosen to resign Mike Mularkey.
Only one thing to do. Draft a punter in the third round (again) in celebration.
5-11 and jags fans are celebrating, state of the franchise
All this happy talk about patience and liking Bradley as a person and blah-blah, the fact remains that if Bradley was a good coach he should win more than 5 games at year 3 playing in the AFC South. With the Colts being bad this year, the Jags should have won more than 5 games. There is zero evidence in what counts (improving win totals) that Bradley is a good NFL coach.
We keep hearing complaints about teams not giving coaches a fair opportunity to get their program in place. Bradley is starting to put the pieces together and you have to like the wide receivers and development of Bortles. The next step is learning how to win.
I spent so much time on NFL.com and PFT this last offseason reading about FA acquisitions and researching college players. When I would watch Fowler highlight videos I would get giddy. If he can come back from his injury and play like Mack in Oakland has within his first 2 years on the field, it will be worth the wait. If he can’t make that change from college to pro, or can’t come back strong because of such an injury, it will be disheartening. Then all the naysayers will call him a bust similar to what people are saying of Clowney. Despite not having off-field issues, he will be compared to Blackmon and then the cries of Jacksonville having poor draft choices will resurface as one more subject to poke fun at Jax for. They have young talent, dedication, and a supportive coaching staff. They are definitely trending upwards and I, like many other fans, can’t wait for them to prove it. They’ve been a hard team to be a fan of for a while, and being able to tell the haters to eat it will be a bittersweet moment worth the wait.
The Jags would probably be a lot better if they could get production from their first-round draft picks. Some of their picks have been questionable (Justin Blackmon, et al) while others have been unlucky (Dante Fowler this year). Still, in the last ten years, their first round picks have been less than stellar. They still need to work on a lot of the roster. I think they are still more than two years away from a playoff spot.
good move by this team, They are a piece or two away from being a really good team. good young coach who has a plan in place and an owner who understands patience.
It’s not as simple as record and time. The question is, is the team getting better? The Jags are getting better. Bradley is a questionable coach, based on gameplan, gameday moves, but hopefully he can take the next step.
Chud should’ve never been fired and Pettine should have never been hired. Way different situation.
grantepalmer says:
Jan 22, 2016 12:27 PM
All this happy talk about patience and liking Bradley as a person and blah-blah, the fact remains that if Bradley was a good coach he should win more than 5 games at year 3 playing in the AFC South. With the Colts being bad this year, the Jags should have won more than 5 games. There is zero evidence in what counts (improving win totals) that Bradley is a good NFL coach.
I total agree with you grantepalmer. The comments I see regarding this guy are baffling. How patient should a fan base be, if he has another losing season, he should go.
Cleveland should pay attention. You improve with consistency and establishing a culture and identity for your team. Hard to do that when you start over every off season. Glad to see a team actually trying to do it the right way and I hope they are rewarded for it.
As far as Bortles being an interception machine, Luck already has that honor in the division but the experts seem to still think he’s the second coming. Young qbs who throw a lot on a team that isn’t great are gonna have those happen.
In 2018 Gus Bradly escaped from the Jags prison. All they found of him was a muddy John Henderson jersey, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, darn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to turn around the Jags. Old Gus did it in less than twenty.
Oh, Gus loved going 3-13 every year. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Losing every year is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big GD contract extension.
Like I said, in Jacksonville a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Gus’ favorite hobby was totin’ his bad plays out into the field, a handful at a time. I guess after the Jags were to draft in the top 5 again, Gus decided he’d been here just about long enough. Gus did like he was told, buffed that crappy roster to a high mirror shine. The fans simply didn’t notice. Neither did I… I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at that crappy team?
Gus crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of Jacksonville smelling foulness I can’t even imagine, or maybe I just don’t want to. Five hundred yards… that’s the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile, more yards then they gained in the 2016 season.
As long as Grigson, Hoyer and Mularkey are in the division, the Jags have as good of a shot as anyone to win the AFC South.
HAHAHA
Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me get back to my point.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
I love the posters that spew bile and whine when they get a thumbs down on it lol