The Indianapolis Colts are going through their head coaching search after roughly a month of interviews, but it appears they are set on keeping Gus Bradley as the defensive coordinator.
While new head coaches typically like to bring in their own staff, it appears the Colts are blocking Bradley from leaving, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.
As Breer was discussing the connections that some of the finalists have, he brought up the fact that Bradley and Raheem Morris have a history. Also, that the Colts have blocked Bradley from leaving.
“Morris’s ties to Indy are logical ones, too—DC Gus Bradley (whom Indy’s blocked from leaving) was with Morris in Tampa from 2006 to ’08; and Ballard’s NFL upbringing in Chicago was with former Bucs people (Jerry Angelo, Lovie Smith).”
This certainly is an intriguing wrinkle to the process. Bradley’s defensive unit was solid for the majority of the 2022 campaign even though they faltered a bit down the stretch of an exhausting season.
While Morris may not have an issue with Bradley being retained as the defensive coordinator, it isn’t clear if other candidates would prefer to bring in their own coach to hold that role, which may limit one’s desire to take the job if offered.
Bradley proved he can do some great things with what the Colts have on defense, and that was without linebacker Shaquille Leonard.
Hopefully, we get an understanding of who the next head coach will be and whether that will include Bradley as the defensive coordinator.
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