Bradford joins Montana staff as cornerbacks coach

Montana head coach Bobby Hauck has added even more coaching experience at the highest levels of the game to his staff, with Ronnie Bradford coming to UM to serve as the Grizzlies' assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach.

A 15-year coaching veteran, Bradford comes to Montana after 10 seasons playing in the NFL, seven coaching in the NFL, and eight coaching FBS college football.

Most recently, Bradford spent three years at Southern California, where he served as the Trojans secondary coach, with stops at Louisiana Tech, Memphis, and California before that.

"I've known Ronnie for many years, and I have high regard for him both as a person and as a football coach," said Hauck.

"We feel fortunate to have him here working with our corners and serving as our assistant head coach. He's engaging, he's intelligent, and he's going to be great for our kids. Not just the corners, but the whole team."

Bradford now joins a Grizzly coaching staff that already boasts over 200 years of combined coaching experience.

"I'm very excited to be here at Montana, I know what kind of program Coach Hauck runs, and I know he does a great job. The players are a great, disciplined group who work hard, and that's all you can ask for from a coaching standpoint," said Bradford.

"Coach Hauck has also put together a great staff, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm fired up and can't wait to go."

Bradford began his playing career as a cornerback at Colorado, where he helped the Buffs win the 1990 national championship when he blocked an extra point in CU's 10-9 victory over Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl.

After being selected in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, he spent 10 seasons in the league with stops in Denver, Arizona, Atlanta, and Minnesota. He played in 136 games (99 starts) in his career, totaling 523 tackles, 14 interceptions (with 1 TD), 70 pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He intercepted a pass in Super Bowl XXXIII as a member of the 1998 NFC titlist Falcons.

Bradford then returned to Denver in 2003 and spent six seasons on the Broncos' staff, working with special teams and defensive backs. As the special teams coach, he worked with kicker Jason Elam, who had the NFL's third-most field goals and points from 2003-06, and as the defensive backs coach, he coached NFL standouts Champ Bailey, Ty Law, and Dre Bly. He was also a defensive assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009.

At USC, he helped the Trojans assemble one of the nation's top defensive backfields under head coach Clay Helton.

In 2018 he helped develop cornerback Iman Marshall, who would go on to be a fourth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2017, USC had 16 interceptions (13 by defensive backs) to rank 19th nationally. Safety Marvell Tell III made All-Pac-12 first team, and the Trojans played in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.

In 2016, cornerback Adoree' Jackson won the Thorpe Award, was a consensus All-American first-teamer, was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and was an NFL Draft first-round pick. USC advanced to the Rose Bowl that season and had 14 interceptions on the year, all by defensive backs and limited opponent passers to just a 56.9% completion rate.

Before his time at USC, Bradford spent three seasons (2013-15) as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Louisiana Tech.

In 2015, Louisiana Tech cornerback Bryson Abraham ranked 14th nationally in passes defended, and he scored four defensive TDs, while the Bulldogs blocked four kicks, seventh-best in the nation, and played in the New Orleans Bowl.

In 2014, Louisiana Tech ranked first nationally in interceptions with 26 and 26th in pass efficiency defense, and also blocked three kicks and was 12th in kickoff returns while winning the Conference USA West Division and the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Bradford was a four-year letterman cornerback (1989-92) at Colorado, starting for two seasons and being named All-Big 8 first team as a 1992 senior.

As a sophomore, he was a member of the Buffaloes' 1990 national championship team, and his block of Notre Dame's PAT attempt in the final minutes of the Orange Bowl preserved CU's 10-9 victory.

Since then, Hauck says he has used the tape of Bradford's blocked PAT as the shining example of what he wants out of his players.

"Everywhere I've been, whether it's Colorado, Washington, or Montana, we've used his play in the de-facto national championship game as an example of the standard of effort that is expected," added Hauck.

"So, we're excited to have him here now because we've utilized him everywhere I've coached."

Bradford graduated from Colorado in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in communication. He has three children: Tony, Kaylee, and Justin.

University of Montana Athletics

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