Colts opt against renewing contracts of two defensive coaches

Some slight changes to the defensive coaching staff are coming.

The Indianapolis Colts will not renew the contracts of defensive line coach Nate Ollie and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell, per Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.

These mark the first changes to Gus Bradley’s staff on the defensive side of the ball after what was an up-and-down season for the Colts defense.

Both Ollie and Mitchell worked under Bradley for the last two seasons. The pass rush has enjoyed a resurgence under Bradley and Ollie, which is why it’s a bit surprising to see the latter let go.

Mitchell has worked under defensive backs coach Ron Milus for the last two seasons, spending the majority of his time working with a young safety room that included Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas II.

There aren’t expected to be major changes coming to the coaching staff this offseason, but these expired contracts at least show the staff will look somewhat different on the defensive side of the ball.

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Colts to hire Nate Ollie as DL coach

The Colts are expected to hire Nate Ollie as their new defensive line coach.

The Indianapolis Colts are expected to hire Nate Ollie as their defensive line coach under new coordinator Gus Bradley.

Ollie is new to the coaching realm as he’s been working for just three years in the NFL. He got his start as the assistant defensive line coach with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons (2019-2020) working under Jim Schwartz and then took the same role under Robert Saleh’s defense with the New York Jets (2021).

The news was first reported by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.

With Ollie expected to join the staff, it appears the major roles on the defensive side of the ball have been addressed. There are still some other coaching roles that need to be filled, but it appears we have the base of Bradley’s coaching staff revealed.

The defensive line coach will hold a massive role in getting the pass rush going. The Colts haven’t had a consistent pass rush since Chris Ballard took over in 2017 and the hope is that the infusion of young talent along with the experience of Bradley will help fix that.


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4 things to know about new Jets assistant DL coach Nate Ollie

Get to know new Jets assistant defensive line coach Nate Ollie.

Robert Saleh’s first Jets coaching staff is littered with experience, but it also features a handful of younger staffers.

Among them is Nate Ollie, who comes to New York after spending the last two seasons as an assistant defensive line coach with the Eagles. Although he has never worked with Saleh, Ollie will reprise that role with the Jets.

Let’s get to know a little bit more about New York’s new assistant defensive line coach.