The San Francisco have their eyes set on hiring Gus Bradley to coordinate their defense, presumably under Kyle Shanahan this upcoming season.
Mike Silver of NFL Network reports that, while Bradley initially rebuffed the team’s offer after Tom Cable dropped out of the race for head coach, the 49ers are upping their offer to him in order to secure his services.
If the 49ers were to land Bradley along with Shanahan, it would have to be considered some seriously good news for the organization. For as bad as Bradley was as the head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was tremendous coordinating the defense of the Seattle Seahawks from 2009-12 — a period of time in which the Legion of Boom became a household name.
In 2011, the Seahawks ranked No. 9 in total defense and improved to No. 4 in 2012, Bradley’s final season with Seattle. It was his defensive prowess that landed him the head coaching gig with the Jaguars.
And while the 49ers have some big holes to fill, namely at linebacker and cornerback, there is no doubt the team has some special young players up front that could blossom into stars. Namely, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner have special talents that are only beginning to emerge.
With plenty of draft currency to improve the roster and reports emerging that the 49ers could be in the market for a big-name quarterback (more on that here), the fortunes of this franchise could turn around quicker than many believe possible.