The Chargers have re-signed defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to a three-year contract, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier tonight (via Twitter) that Los Angeles was expected to be able to retain its defensive play-caller, whose contract expired after the 2017 season.
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Bradley is the second defensive coordinator to be hired in the NFL tonight, joining new Packers defensive play-caller Mike Pettine. Both Bradley and Pettine were candidates for the Green Bay coaching position, so Bradley may have decided to re-sign in Los Angeles after being passed over by the Packers.
Bradley inked a one-year deal with the Chargers after spending three-plus seasons as the Jaguars’ head coach. Los Angeles ranked 12th in DVOA under Bradley’s leadership, while the defensive unit featured starring performances from edge rushers Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram and cornerback Casey Hayward.
“We’d like to keep this together if we can,” Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said of Bradley earlier this month. “I know some guys, the contracts are up. We’re working on that right now. We’re trying to keep this staff together, this nucleus together, because I think we got better as a coaching staff as the season went on.”
With Bradley, Pettine, Paul Guenther, Teryl Austin now placed in Los Angeles, Green Bay, Oakland, and Cincinnati, respectively, Vic Fangio is the primary free agent defensive coordinator still on the board. Speculatively, the Bears could now be set to retain Fangio under new head coach Matt Nagy, a solution that Chicago prefers.