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Sports

Jaguars Fire Head Coach Gus Bradley After Racking Up Second-Worst Win Percentage in NFL History

Bradley's proven again and again that he's can't even build a winning defense, let alone a winning team.
The sad face is real. Photo by Reinhold Matay—USA TODAY Sports

Gus Bradley had nearly everything a head coach could ask for: Patient owners familiar with the cutting edge of sports analysis, a general manager aggressive in acquiring talent yet patient with him, and a talented young quarterback he helped select with a No. 3 overall pick.

Yet after not quite four full season in Jacksonville, Bradley is 14-48 as a head coach. His winning percentage of .226 is the second-lowest in NFL history, per Pro Football Reference—behind only Bert Bell, who oversaw the Philadelphia Eagles in the runup to World War II.

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The Jaguars' Week 15 loss to the Houston Texans was a microcosm of Bradley's time in Jacksonville: Flashes of great defensive play, some promising individual efforts, even a shining period where triumph seemed assured.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Jaguars drew first blood—and second and third, running up a 13-0 second-quarter lead. Then a rare holding penalty during a punt occurred in the worst possible place: The end zone, where it resulted in a bizarre safety for the Texans.

And those exact two points would eventually make up the Texans' margin of victory.

Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler, he of the rich free-agent contract, was benched for #DraftTwitter darling Tom Savage. Savage immediately got the Texans into scoring position; four straight Texans field goals were broken up by halftime and a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jaguars wideout Marquise Lee:

Marquise Lee https://t.co/ryJhnh052J
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) December 18, 2016

But even that free touchdown wasn't enough for the Jags to hang on to victory. The Jags' bend-but-don't-break defense up until that point in the game did as it has done 11 other times this season: It broke. Savage and Texans tailback Lamar Miller combined to lead the go-ahead touchdown drive.

Despite getting two more possessions with which to answer, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles couldn't mount a credible threat. His day—and Bradley's tenure in Jacksonville—ended fittingly, with a moonball interception.

There's plenty of talent in Jacksonville, and a gifted offensive mind could even wring some decent play out of Bortles, who has all the tools. But Bradley's proven again and again that he's can't even build a winning defense, let alone a winning team.