Just over a week after Matt Eberflus was announced as the Bears‘ new head coach, the Colts have found his replacement, hiring former Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley for the same position on Friday, according to The Indianapolis Star and other outlets. The 55-year-old Bradley had reportedly been one of several veteran defensive coaches on the Colts’ radar, and he’ll join Indy’s staff after successive defensive coordinator jobs with the Chargers (2017-2020) and Raiders (2021).
In his first and only season in Las Vegas, Bradley oversaw a Raiders defense that ranked No. 14 in yards allowed per game, two spots ahead of Eberflus’ oft-vaunted Colts unit. Bradley also notably helped the Raiders defeat the Colts in Week 17, when both teams were fighting to stay in the playoff picture. Before his run in Vegas, he oversaw Pro Bowl breakouts from defensive starters like Derwin James, Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram running the Chargers’ defense.
Bradley is perhaps best known, however, for his four-year tenure as the Seahawks‘ defensive coordinator from 2009-2012, when he helped oversee the formation of the “Legion of Boom” defense, which went on to power three division titles, two NFC championships and — after he left — a Super Bowl victory in Seattle. Bradley previously worked under former Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay, and he spent four years as the Jaguars‘ head coach from 2013-2016.
