INDIANAPOLIS — Back before Matt Eberflus was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, the Colts’ decision-makers made it clear that X’s and O’s would only be part of the process of replacing Eberflus if the team’s long-time defensive architect got hired away.
As much as Indianapolis valued Eberflus’s smarts, the Colts put just as much value, if not more, on Eberflus’s leadership, intensity and ability to get the defense pulling in the same direction.
The Colts hired Gus Bradley as their new defensive coordinator on Friday night, bringing in another coach with a reputation for leadership, energy and the ability to fit the culture Indianapolis has built under Frank Reich and Chris Ballard.
Bradley, who spent last season as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator, first rose to prominence as the original play-caller for Seattle’s famous Legion of Boom defense, then spent four years as Jacksonville’s head coach and four more as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator before landing in Las Vegas.
At every stop, Bradley has been known for his energy, communication and his ability to get players pulling in the same direction.
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From an X’s and O’s standpoint, Bradley represents a departure from the coaching tree that inspired the scheme the Colts have been running the past four years, a shift that Ballard hinted was possible early in the offseason.
“My whole thing with the 3-4, everybody ends up in nickel and dime defense anyway,” Ballard said. “You end up with a four-man front. That’s where you end up. Frank and I and Mr. (Jim) Irsay, we’d talk through it and figure out which way we wanted to go, but at the end of the day, it wouldn’t have to be from a specific tree.”
Indianapolis interviewed six candidates from Jan. 29 to Tuesday, a group that came from a wide variety of schematic backgrounds — Bradley, Jacksonville defensive coordinator Joe Cullen, Washington defensive backs coach Chris Harris, New Orleans defensive backs coach Kris Richard, former Philadelphia defensive coordinator and Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz and Dallas secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr.
Eberflus’ scheme evolved over the years, but the roots were in the Tampa Two tree of Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, the coaches who’d brought the scheme to both Indianapolis and to Ballard during his days as an area scout in Chicago.
Gus Bradley’s defensive scheme
Bradley, 55, was the original play-caller for Seattle’s famous Cover-3 scheme, a system the Colts have repeatedly referenced as an influence the past couple of seasons. The scheme is rooted in zone coverage and creating pressure with the front four — Las Vegas blitzed less than any other team in the NFL last season.
The hire of Bradley means the Colts won’t have to overhaul their talent in order to fit the scheme. Under Ballard, Indianapolis has long drafted players in the secondary who would also fit Seattle’s scheme, and the pairing of Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke should be licking its chops at playing in the system that produced Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.
But the scheme is only a part of the picture. Indianapolis believes in Bradley’s core system, but the Colts believe he’s also flexible and capable of adapting to fit his personnel, a quality that also marked Eberflus’ tenure.
Bradley, 55, also has the experience to take over a Colts defense that already has a lot of pieces in place and keep it moving. In one season in Las Vegas, Bradley took a Raiders defense that finished 25th in yards and 30th in scoring in 2020 and improved it to a group that finished 14th in yards and 4.1 points per game better, although that only moved Las Vegas up to 26th in the scoring standings.
Before the season in Las Vegas, Bradley spent four years at the head of the Chargers defense, directing defenses that finished in the top 10 in passing yards allowed in all four seasons and in the top 10 overall in three of his four seasons. His first two defenses in Los Angeles also finished in the top 10 in both scoring and defensive DVOA.
Now that the Colts have Bradley in place, Indianapolis will allow its new defensive coordinator to build his own staff, a plan that was set in motion when the Colts made the decision to hold an external search for its new coordinator, allowing most of the defensive assistants to follow Eberflus to Chicago.
The Las Vegas defensive staff had several coaches who have a long history of working with Bradley. Defensive backs coach Ron Milus worked with Bradley in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as did veteran linebackers coach Richard Smith and assistant defensive backs coach Addison Lynch. Bradley also spent last season coaching with legendary defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, a man Ballard knows well from his days in Chicago.
Indianapolis will likely try to bring over some of Bradley’s staff from Las Vegas, although the Colts must go through the NFL’s hiring process since several are still listed on the Raiders’ coaching staff.
But that work can begin now, after a week of searching for a new man to lead the Indianapolis defense.
The Colts think Bradley’s the right man for the job.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts hiring Gus Bradley as new defensive coordinator