On the heels of a poor throw and dropped catch effectively ending the season for the Colts, much of the early off season conversation in Indianapolis involved the defense. To be more specific, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. With many in the media calling for his job, both head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard hinted at Bradley’s return in 2024.
On the surface, it’s easy to see the public outcry calling for his job. In 2023, the Colts defense ranked No. 24 in total defense allowing 348.9 yards per game and 24.4 points per game. To break that down even further, the Colts were the No. 16 passing defense (226 yards per game) and No. 24 rushing defense (123.8 yards per game). With two seasons under his belt in Indianapolis, Bradley has yet to scratch the surface of his “Legion of Boom” success in Seattle.
So the question becomes, with the lack of success why are Steichen and Ballard so adamant about his return?
Inexperienced Secondary
Perhaps the strongest defense for Bradley are the cards he was dealt in the secondary. In an offseason that saw a trade of Stephon Gilmore as well as the suspension of Isaiah Rodgers, the Colts entered the 2023 season extremely thin at the cornerback position. Outside of Kenny Moore, who is one of the leagues premier slot corners, the Colts returned the likes of Dallis Flowers and Darrel Baker Jr. both of which were second year unproven players.
The Colts did look to address the cornerback room in the 2023 NFL Draft by way of drafting JuJu Brents (second round), Darius Rush (fifth round) and Jaylon Jones (seventh round). As a result, the Colts entered training camp with the youngest cornerback room in the NFL. Rush would go on to be poached off of the Colts practice squad by the Kansas City Chiefs and Flowers would tear his achilles ending his season in October. Despite all of this, Bradley and the defense did enough to win nine games this season, more than double from the year prior. There is plenty of reason to believe that if the Colts further address the young secondary this offseason, then there will be a pathway to success under Bradley.
Rushing the Quarterback
The Colts defense finished the year with 51 total sacks as a team, good for the 5th most in the league this season. Furthermore, the 51 sacks set a new franchise record in the team’s time in Indianapolis. An impressive statistic considering the team saw many years of success in that category with the duo of Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. The three sack leaders this year were Samson Ebukam (9.5), Kwitty Paye (8.5) and Dayo Odeyingbo (8.0).
The fact that the franchise record was broke without a single player achieving double digit sacks is impressive in it’s own right and is a testament to Bradley’s ability to get the most of his players. Another leading argument for those calling for Bradley’s job was his unwillingness to send extra pressure on the quarterback. Easier said than done especially when your front four are getting pressure and your secondary is so young.
The Track Record
The final case for retaining Bradley is his track record. After already discussing the highs and lows from the 2023 season, it is important to note the prior success. As mentioned earlier, Bradley was a driving force in the development of “The Legion of Boom” in Seattle. In his time with the Seahawks, Bradley took a defense that finished No. 24 in total defense in his inaugural season to No. 1 in 2012 before being hired by Jacksonville as their head coach. After an underwhelming stint as a head coach, Bradley was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. In just his first season in L.A. Bradley led them to the No. 3 scoring against defense, allowing 17 points per game.