Colts' Gus Bradley defensive coordinator on Shane Steichen's staff

Gus Bradley will remain with the Indianapolis Colts as defensive coordinator under new head coach Shane Steichen.

Gus Bradley will remain the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts under new head coach Shane Steichen, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday.

“This has been the expectation league wide as teams filled jobs. Colts keep continuity on the defensive side of the ball,” Fowler wrote. It's the third year in a row Bradley will have a new head coach, after Steichen was hired as the team's new boss earlier this month.

Indianapolis has recorded more sacks (43) than any Colts team since 2005, ranks sixth in the league in sacks per attempt (8.7 percent), 11th in the NFL in yards allowed per play (5.2), 10th in the NFL on third down (38.1 percent) and held six of the first 10 opponents to 20 points or less, according to Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star.

“Bradley wanted his Colts defense to be fast, physical and get the ball out, and aside from the team’s lack of takeaways — a number impacted by the absence of All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard — the Indianapolis defense lived up to its new coordinator’s expectations,” Erickson wrote in January.

It was a difficult season to say the least for the Colts, who were dragged down by one of the worst offensive units in the NFL. After Frank Reich was fired in 2022, Jeff Saturday took the reins as an interim coach for the rest of the season, going 1-7 in the process.

Although Saturday was in the running as the team's next boss, owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard decided on Steichen, the now ex-Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator.

“This league presents uncertainty,” Bradley told the Star. “But yeah, you’d like to say, ‘All right, we just built something, now let’s take the next step.' There’s things that we’ve learned about this unit, what works well and our skill set, and where our players are. You’d like to, for their sake, have something where you can add onto what you’ve done.”

Gus Bradley will have at least another year to run the Colts' defense under Shane Steichen, and the hope is that the offense can keep up with the defense in 2023.