The Philadelphia Eagles interviewed Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley for their head coaching vacancy on Saturday in Atlanta, USA Today Sports reported, citing a source informed of the meeting.
Bradley is helping the Seahawks prep for their playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He’s been the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator since 2009, and the team’s defense allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game this season.
If Bradley is their guy, the Eagles can’t officially hire him until the Seahawks are eliminated from the playoffs.
The 46-year-old Bradley has emerged as a favorite among fans in Philadelphia based mainly on an old video clip in which he goes off on the Seahawks’ defense during a game.
“Well, it’s flattering. And I know people talk about our entire focus is on Atlanta and it really is,” Bradley said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s so important to us. We worked so hard to get to this point and our whole message to the team is to keep raising the bar and getting better and better every week. They’re talking that and we’re talking that, so it’s easy to stay focused on it. It’s flattering as you’ve all heard before. But our entire focus is on Atlanta and trying to get one step closer.”
Bradley began his NFL coaching career with Tampa Bay as a defensive quality control coach in 2006. He was the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach the next two seasons before going to Seattle. Bradley coached in college from 1990-2005, including two stints at North Dakota State and four years at Fort Lewis College.
“He’s got a brilliant football mind,” Seahawks coach Peter Carroll said this week. “He’s got a way of reaching people and touching people and getting the best out of them, coaches and players alike. He’s got everything that you’re looking for.”
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and president Don Smolenski already have interviewed seven candidates since firing Andy Reid on Dec. 31, one day after the team completed a 4-12 season.
One of those interviewed, Brian Kelly, announced Saturday that he was staying at Notre Dame.
The Eagles also will interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden on Monday and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on Tuesday.
This is the third time owner Lurie is hiring a new coach since he bought the team from Norman Braman in 1994. He hired Ray Rhodes on Feb. 2, 1995, after a long, exhaustive search that included a flirtation with former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Lurie needed less time to hire Reid, giving him the job on Jan. 11, 1999.
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