Former Penn State DC Tom Bradley reportedly close to joining UCLA

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley is reportedly close to being named the new defensive coordinator at UCLA.

Bradley was a long-time assistant under former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, and he assumed the role of interim head coach of the program following the firing of Paterno in November 2011. Though a fan and player favorite for years, Bradley moved in a new direction following Penn State’s hiring of Bill O’Brien as head coach in January 2012. Bradley took a year off to do some TV work and returned to the coaching world with West Virginia.

From Bruin Report Online’s report Wednesday evening;

Sources are telling us that UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora has actually submitted Bradley’s name for vetting and approval by the UCLA administration. It still isn’t final, therefore, and Mora could still reconsider, but it’s looking very likely Bradley will be UCLA’s next defensive coordinator.

If Jim Mora is putting Bradley’s name in for consideration, that appears to be a strong sign of the interest in adding Bradley to the staff. UCLA lost defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to the Atlanta Falcons. Bradley had been considered by Mora for the same job the previous season before naming Ulbrich defensive coordinator.

If Bradley is heading to UCLA, he will jump into a very good position with plenty of talent to work with. The Bruins have been one of the more competitive Pac-12 programs the last few seasons under Mora, and the need to improve on defense is something Bradley should be able to address. UCLA was ranked 65th in total defense and 102nd in total turnovers forced in 2014. In addition, the Bruins were 79th in red zone defense and 60th in red zone touchdowns allowed. Bradley’s defenses have tended to play by a bend-don’t-break mold at times during his time at Penn State, but give him the kind of talent UCLA should be capable of pulling and I would think UCLA’s defense could improve rather quickly.

Any potential hiring will have to wait until the vetting process is completed, which Bruin Report Online suggests is the reason for the delay right now. Any new coach has to be vetted, but given Bradley’s strong ties to Paterno and Penn State you have to imagine UCLA will take extra care to ensure the hiring will come without controversy on its end. I do not suspect that will be the case, especially given his return to coaching at West Virginia already behind him, but this is one of the baggage some coaches will have to carry with them.

Tom Bradley leading candidate for DC (Bruin Report Online)

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