Atiba Bradley joined head coach Bob Nielson at South Dakota in December of 2015. Bradley is the Coyotes' inside linebackers coach and NFL liaison.
Bradley started his coaching career in 2006 at Missouri Southern State as a student assistant while finishing his degree in general studies with an emphasis in mathematics. During that season, he coached the cornerbacks. In 2007, he was hired as an intern coach and worked with the tight ends and offensive line.
Bradley continued his career as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri in 2008. He was in charge of the Tigers’ offensive quality control and helped Mizzou to a prolific offensive season that broke numerous school scoring and yardage records. In 2009, he made the move from offense to defense and served as the defensive graduate assistant coach.
Bradley worked at Missouri Southern, his alma mater, in 2010-11. He was the linebackers coach, recruiting coordinator and oversaw the academic progress of student-athletes.
In 2012, Bradley coached at Quincy University and was the defensive and recruiting coordinator. Bradley made an immediate impact as the Hawks transitioned to the NCAA Division II level. Four of his players on defense earned All-Great Lakes Valley Conference Second Team honors.
When Nielson was named Western Illinois’ head coach in 2013, he recruited Bradley to be his linebackers coach. In his first season, Bradley helped the defensive unit rank seventh nationally in total defense and third in passing defense. Western’s top four linebackers combined for 22 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, six interceptions and 12 pass break-ups. One of his linebackers, Kevin Kintzel, was named All-MVFC and was honored by the College Football Performance Awards and received the organization’s Linebacker Award (given to one of the top linebackers in Division I FCS).
In 2014, Bradley’s linebacker squad had two of the top players in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in tackles per game including Kintzel, who earned All-MVFC honors for the second consecutive season.
For the 2015 season, Bradley was promoted to co-defensive coordinator. He helped Western Illinois return to the Division I FCS playoffs for the first time since 2010 and advanced to the second round. In 2016, he helped senior linebacker Jet Moreland to all-MVFC honors after Moreland became the second Coyote since 2000 to surpass 100 tackles in a season. One year later, the Coyotes improved their run game by 100 yards, finished fifth nationally in sacks and competed in the FCS playoffs for the first time.
During his playing days at Missouri Southern, Bradley was a two-time all-conference linebacker. Prior to college, he was an all-state performer as a prep offensive and defensive lineman at Joplin High School.
Bradley married Jacquelyn Dukart in June 2008. The couple has three children, Briauna, Kiara Nicole and Marcus.
