Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey announced today three additions to his coaching staff in Bob Bratkowski (offensive coordinator), Mel Tucker (assistant head coach/defensive coordinator) and Joe Cullen (defensive line coach).
Bratkowski served as quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2011. He has 20 years of NFL coaching experience including 14 as an offensive coordinator. Prior to joining the Falcons, Bratkowski spent 10 seasons (2001-10) with the Cincinnati Bengals as offensive coordinator. He has previously worked with Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey on two coaching staffs, in Atlanta last season and in Pittsburgh from 1999-2000. Now in his 35th year in coaching, Bratkowski coached 14 seasons at the college level before entering the NFL in 1992.
Tucker served as interim head coach for the Jaguars for the final five games of the 2011 season after being named to the post on November 29. Tucker has spent the past three seasons with the Jaguars as defensive coordinator and has 15 years of coaching experience, eight at the collegiate level and seven in the NFL. He joined the Jaguars after four seasons (2005-08) with the Cleveland Browns where he served as defensive coordinator in his final season.
Cullen, who has 22 years of coaching experience, returns for his third season with the Jaguars. The Jaguars have improved their sack total in each of the two seasons under Cullen including 31 in 2011. He has been responsible for the development of two recent draft picks in defensive tackles Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu. Fourth-year defensive end Jeremy Mincey produced career-best totals in 2011 with 101 tackles along with a team-high eight sacks and four forced fumbles. The eight sacks were the most by a Jaguar since Bobby McCray had 10 in 2006. Mincey has at least five sacks in back-to-back seasons, the first player to accomplish the feat since McCray and Rob Meier in 2006-07.
The Jaguars 2011 defense finished sixth in the NFL in yards per game (313.0) under Tucker, the highest ranking since 2006. The Jaguars ranked ninth in rushing yards per game (104.2), eighth in passing (208.8), second in fewest completions of 20-plus yards (43), third in fewest plays of 20-plus yards (51), second in most three-and-out drives (57) and third in first downs allowed per game (16.8).
The Jaguars improved defensively from 28th in 2010 to sixth in 2011, the second-largest improvement in the NFL, and improved in nearly every statistical category from a year ago. The unit ranked in the top 10 in 16 of the 17 weeks despite using 14 different starting lineups in 16 games due to injuries. Only five players started all 16 games on defense and only eight players played in all 16 games. The unit lost two starting cornerbacks, a starting linebacker and starting defensive end in consecutive weeks to season-ending injuries.
Under Bratkowski's tutelage, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan set single-season franchise marks in 2011 for passing yards (4,177) and 300-yard passing games (six) and ranked eighth in the NFL with a 92.2 passer rating. He threw for at least one touchdown in 15 straight games and concluded the regular season with 166 passes without being intercepted and 77 consecutive pass plays without being sacked. The Falcons set a single-season franchise record for yards per game (376.6) and passing yards per game (262.0).
