Colts hiring former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator?

The Colts are bringing in an experienced mind to lead their defense.

Indianapolis is hiring Gus Bradley to be its new defensive coordinator, Joel A. Erickson of IndyStar reported Friday night. The Colts lost their previous defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus when he was hired as the Bears' head coach last month.

Bradley most recently served as the Raiders' defensive coordinator, but will not return to Las Vegas under recently hired Josh McDaniels. In his lone season with the Raiders, the team ranked 14th in total defense with 5,732 yards allowed.

The 55-year-old got his start in the NFL as the Buccaneers' linebackers coach from 2006-08. He then jumped to the Seahawks as their defensive coordinator, a position he held for the next four years.

He got his big break the following offseason, as in 2013 he was hired as the head coach of the Jaguars. Jacksonville went 4-12 in Bradley's first season on the job, and then slid to 3-13 the following year. Jacksonville began to show some signs of improvement during the 2015 season, going 5-11, but in 2016 the Jags went just 2-12 before Bradley was fired. The Jaguars never finished higher than third in the AFC South during his tenure.

After leaving Jacksonville, Bradley was hired to be the defensive coordinator for the Chargers. They ranked middle of the pack in yards allowed but were third in the league in points allowed, earning Bradley a three-year extension after just one season on the job. He wasn't retained by incoming coach Brandon Staley in 2021, instead jumping to the Raiders and eventually the Colts.