Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard revealed the fate of Gus Bradley.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard provided an update on Gus Bradley’s status with the team.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard took questions from the media during his annual end-of-season press conference on Thursday afternoon. He was asked everything from Anthony Richardson to what he thinks of new head coach Shane Steichen and everything in between.
A hot topic of debate has been the status of defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and whether he can return to lead the offense in 2024. The first question was about Bradley’s contract, but the next question was more relevant. He ranked 28th in points allowed per game over the past two seasons (24.4 in 2023). This prompted Ballard to respond in more detail.
“I mean, I know it’s a hot topic for everybody,” Ballard said. “Look, this is something we need to improve. On the defensive end, Bradley came in a year ago. I don’t want to say that we had an experienced team, but we had experienced players. Only then did we speak. You see, in some places we are young. I entered high school at a young age and went through some rough times in my high school years and we can’t fully understand them. I mentioned more about myself, but mostly how do I develop my continuity outside of playing with my friends?
“So I decided to get younger. We took lumps and bumps at times, but I think it will pay off in the long run. I think we had five or six new players on defense. I did a good job now. It’s not all bad. Your score should drop. We continue to have long discussions about where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. But we had a new starter on defense.
“I also did a good job. We were good at following people as they passed. I think he needs to improve, but 51 sacks is pretty good. We stole the ball, we have to be a little bit better in that area and get rid of the explosive stuff. “But hopefully we can make another leap forward defensively this year.”
The Colts finished 4-12-1 through 2022, Bradley’s first year with the team as defensive coordinator. They also fired manager Frank Reich and the rest of his staff in the middle of the season, replacing them with interim leader Jeff Saturday. After 2023, they’ll have two rookies guarding the opposing team’s toughest pass rushers in JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones. Indy will have to fill the void left by the Brents due to Darrell Baker Jr.’s injury, while Kenny Moore II prepares for a fantastic campaign in 2023. And Tony Brown. The latter was left out of the squad due to off-field issues and a serious report card image. Starting cornerback Dalis Flowers also showed promise after suffering a season-ending injury (torn Achilles tendon) after 4 games. This puts more pressure on rookie corners early in their careers than they originally wanted. We must not forget that there were also security issues. Rookie Daniel Scott tore his ACL before the preseason started. It’s available as a set, and Bradley and Ballard saw it as a diamond in the rough.
Indy veteran Julian Blackmon joins Scott after missing the last two key games with a shoulder injury. This was a huge blow to Bradley’s plans, as Blackmon was not only having the best years of his career, but showed great communication skills in high school.
Afterwards, Nick Cross, who played safety against Blackmon, moved to a strong team and Rodney Thomas II took Cross’ place. Cross showed the kind of talent that convinced the Colts to trade him up in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Thomas was a shadow of the same guy fans saw a year ago.
Thomas ended the Colts season with a brutal performance against the Houston Texans. Thomas took on more responsibility than Bradley was left with. The Texas game was a microcosm of 2023 for the former seventh-round pick out of Yale. While there were times when the defensive front and linebackers played poorly, it was actually the young and inexperienced secondary that caused the biggest defensive disaster. These failures may make Bradley worse as a fraudster. Ballard was later asked if he expected Bradley to return in 2024, and he said yes.
Ballard and Steichen appear to believe in Bradley and support the former Super Bowl-winning coordinator. Will Bradley, who is likely to stay, be able to return to an experienced and healthy team? He’ll need it because this is his third and final chance to prove he belongs. As Indy looks to free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft, it remains to be seen if Bradley can put it all together. The Colts could give Bradley more opportunities to compete with dynamic wide receivers next year, adding veteran and rookie talent to the development environment.
