CHAMPAIGN — The mostly new Illinois defensive staff is coming together on the heels of Bobby Hauck's hire as coordinator. That includes Hauck's former defensive coordinator at Montana.
Illinois named Ronnie Bradford its new secondary coach Friday. Bradford spent three seasons working for Hauck with the Grizzlies and most recently was senior special teams assistant for the Miami Dolphins for two seasons.
"(Bradford's) extensive experience, both in college football and the NFL, will make an immediate impact in our building," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said in the official release. "Coach Bradford was a standout NFL defensive back and has translated that success to coaching, including coordinating one of the top-ranked defenses in Montana history in 2023. He will work primarily with our safeties, while defensive backs coach Corey Parker will work primarily with our cornerbacks."
Bradford was a standout defensive back at Colorado and helped the Buffaloes claim a share of the national championship in 1990. The Commerce City, Colo., native wound up a fourth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 1993 NFL Draft and played 10 seasons with the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.
Bradford started his coaching career with the Broncos in 2003 as a special teams assistant and spent six seasons on staff in Denver before joining the Kansas City Chiefs as a defensive assistant in 2009. Bradford then spent 11 seasons at the college level with stops at California, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, USC and Montana.
Bradford was assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach at Montana for two seasons before Hauck promoted him to defensive coordinator in 2023. The Grizzlies reached the FCS championship game that season, losing to North Dakota State in the title game. The 2023 Montana defense ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense, turnovers forced, rushing defense, passing efficiency defense and total defense.
"Thank you to Coach Bielema for the opportunity to coach an elite group of student-athletes at this prestigious university at a top conference in college football," Bradford said in the same release. "I am excited to coach with Bobby Hauck and build on the success that has been established here at Illinois."