Can Gus Bradley avoid the London curse?

Gus Bradley better hope his Jacksonville Jaguars don’t return from London with an 0-4 record.

Recent history suggests a trip across the pond can be the beginning of the end for a head coach in charge of a struggling football team.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, eight head coaches have been fired in the same season their team played a game in London, including two—Joe Philbin last year and Dennis Allen in 2014—who were axed immediately after a big loss in England.

The winless Jaguars take on the Indianapolis Colts in London in Week 4. Another defeat may put Bradley on the same hot seat Philbin and Allen couldn’t survive.

A year ago, Philbin’s Dolphins fell to 1-3 with a 27-14 loss to the New York Jets in London. The very next day, Miami fired Philbin and put Dan Campbell in charge for the final 12 games of the season.

Allen suffered the same fate after his Raiders started the 2014 season 0-4, including a 38-14 loss to the Dolphins in London. He was let go by Oakland the next night.

Could Bradley be next?

The former Seattle Seahawks coordinator took over the Jaguars in 2013. Bradley’s team is 12-39 over his first 51 games in Jacksonville, leaving him little margin for error moving forward. The young but talented Jaguars were widely expected to take a step forward this season, but Jacksonville squandered an opportunity to beat the Packers in Week 1 and made too many mistakes in a late loss to the Ravens last Sunday.

An embarrassing defeat to the Colts on Sunday in London could pressure owner Shad Khan into making a tough decision on Bradley, who just hasn’t won enough games in four years in charge.

The London curse might have another victim in its sights.

About Zach Kruse

Zach is the associate editor at The Sports Daily. He also covers the NFL for Bleacher Report and CheeseheadTV.

Quantcast