Jaguars fire head coach Bradley after ninth straight loss

[December 19, 2016]  (The Sports Xchange) - The Jacksonville Jaguars fired head coach Gus Bradley in the aftermath of their 21-20 road loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Bradley, 50, finished 14-48 in three-plus seasons with the Jaguars (2-12), who on Sunday dropped their ninth consecutive game.

He spent four seasons as defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks (2009-12) and began his NFL coaching career as a defensive quality control assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006. Bradley worked for two seasons as Buccaneers linebackers coach.

"I thanked Gus Bradley today for his commitment to the Jacksonville Jaguars over the past four seasons," Jaguars owner Shad Khan said.

"As anyone close to our team knows, Gus gave his staff and players literally everything he had. Our players competed for Gus and I know they have great respect for him, as do I.

"Gus also represented the Jaguars, the Jacksonville community and the NFL in nothing less than a first-class manner as our head coach. That counts for a lot. It is unfortunately evident that we must make a change."

Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell will name an interim coach on Monday. According to published reports, Bradley flew back to Jacksonville on the team plane.

The only coach with a worse winning percentage with at least 50 games coached in NFL history is Bert Bell, who was 10-46-2 with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers from 1936 to 1941.

Jacksonville's record over the past four seasons is tied with the Cleveland Browns for the worst in the NFL.

Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley looks on during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Field. The Jacksonville Jaguars won 51-16. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

The Jaguars entered the 2016 season with high hopes for a run at the playoffs, but quarterback Blake Bortles struggled and it was evident early that the franchise was headed for another lost season.

The Jaguars went 4-12 and 3-13 in Bradley's first two seasons as head coach before improving to 5-11 last year.

Bradley becomes the second NFL head coach fired this season, after Jeff Fisher was ditched by the Los Angeles Rams last week.

(Editing by Andrew Both)

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