Gus Bradley finishes his tenure as the Jaguars head coach with a 14-47 record
Despite flying home on the Jaguars team plane, Gus Bradley will not retain his job as their head coach. Owner Shad Khan released a statement following the Jaguars 21-20 loss to Houston announcing the move.
General manager Dave Caldwell will lead the search for the Jaguars next head coach.
Jacksonville has stocked up with talent in recent years, signing multiple prized free agents and drafting explosive players on both sides of the ball. This season Jacksonville was expected to take the next step in the organizations growth, similar to Oakland and Tennessee have.
#Jaguars owner Shad Khan says it all in a statement...by the way GM Dave Caldwell leading the search, Khan says team is "extremely talented" pic.twitter.com/tutvgEkEdg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2016
Jacksonville has the 31st ranked offense in the NFL, despite appearing to have their franchise quarterback, Blake Bortles, and multiple stars on offense. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns look to be building blocks, and a healthy Julius Thomas could be as well.
Defensively the Jaguars expected to see play similar to how Bradley coached in Seattle. Jalen Ramsey, Dante Fowler, Yannick Ngakoue, and Myles Jack were supposed to take the defense to the next level, as was free agent Malik Jackson.
Next: Candidates to Replace Gus Bradley
Bradley was originally expected to join the Eagles, and was at the home of owner Jeffery Lurie with the expectation that he’d earned the job. Then, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly called during dinner, and Lurie set up a meeting with Kelly on the phone in the kitchen while Bradley was in the next room.
Candidates to replace Bradley could include offensive coordinators Kyle Shanahan or Mike Shula to help Blake Bortles take the next step in his development as a quarterback.