3 reasons Gus Bradley was the right hire for the Las Vegas Raiders
By Brad Weiss
Gus Bradley was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, and here is why he is the right fit for this franchise moving forward.
The Las Vegas Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther during the 2020 NFL season, replacing him with Rod Marinelli in the interim. While Marinelli will be back with the Raiders as the defensive line coach in 2021, he will not be the defensive coordinator, as the franchise hired Gus Bradley to take over in that role for the upcoming season.
This may not have been the most-popular hire, but Bradley is a talented DC, and here is why he was the right fit for the organization at this point.
Bradley is familiar with the AFC West
Bradley is fresh off being the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, so he has familiarity with the AFC West. For the foreseeable future, the Silver and Black will have to play two dynamic quarterbacks twice a season, as the Chargers have Justin Herbert, and the Kansas City Chiefs have arguably the best quarterback in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes.
The fact that Bradley already has had some success against Mahomes is huge, and he has seen first hand the maturation of Herbert in Year 1 this past season. The Raiders will never win the AFC West if they cannot get the best of these two players, and Bradley may be the best defensive coordinator to help them do just that in 2021.
Last season, Bradley’s defense held the Chiefs to 23 points in an overtime loss in Week 2, one of their lowest totals of the season with Mahomes under center.