Doyel: Risk-taking Shane Steichen needs a bold defensive coordinator, not Gus Bradley
INDIANAPOLIS – Colts coach Shane Steichen didn’t say Gus Bradley will be back as defensive coordinator. No really, he did not. Not Monday, when he was asked a general question about the staff and specifically about Bradley, the implication being: Will Gus be back next season?
What Shane Steichen didn’t say: Yes.
So what did he say? Well, this was his answer when asked about the potential for staff changes:
“I believe in continuity,” Steichen said, “I’ll say that.”
Wiggle room, you call that.
Insider: What Colts coach Shane Steichen said Monday about DC Gus Bradley
And here was his answer when asked a pointed question about Gus Bradley, specifically if they were aligned philosophically. Not my question, but I love those words. Are they aligned philosophically? Of course not. When it comes to their football philosophy, Shane Steichen sees every game as a party – and he’s the guy swinging from the chandelier, calling trick plays and going for it on fourth-and-whatever.
Gus Bradley? He skipped the party. All that drinking, laughing and horseplay? A person can get hurt doing that. Gus is better outside, parked away from everyone else so his minivan won’t get dinged.
Cushion, you call that. Fear is another word.
Shane Steichen sees football as his chance to boldly go where nobody has gone before. Gus Bradley? He’s scared to death.
Fair: Gus Bradley 'an absolutely beautiful human'
Bradley seems to be a wonderful guy, and I’m not saying that because Steichen says so or his players say so, though here’s what Steichen said about Bradley back in 2022, when Steichen was still the offensive coordinator at Philadelphia.
“Hell of a football coach,” Steichen said before the Eagles’ Nov. 20 visit to Lucas Oil Stadium to play the Colts. “Hell of a human being.”
One of my favorites in coaching, any sport at any level, is Buzz Williams. He’s coaching Texas A&M basketball now, just a prince of man, and he was texting me last year about Bradley. No idea where their paths crossed – they’ve never worked for the same school, or in the same city – but Buzz had read something I’d written about Bradley. This was also in November 2022, ironically enough, when I’d noted the shock factor of Colts owner Jim Irsay replacing Frank Reich with interim coach Jeff Saturday rather than “the most logical guy on staff,” former NFL head coach Gus Bradley.
Among Buzz’s comments, unprompted, about Gus Bradley:
“The best/most genuine leader of men I have ever been around. The only one who compares is Dusty Baker. Is magnetic. The highest level of humility.”
And Buzz said of Bradley:
“Fastest rise to NFL head coach – ever – and nobody knows it because he never says it. Will deflect all praise. An absolutely beautiful human.”
Why show you what a college basketball coach in Texas said in 2022 about the Colts’ defensive coordinator, as of today, in January 2024? Because you need to know where this story is coming from, or more specifically, where it’s not. No anger in this story. No malice. Nothing personal about Bradley – though I hear you, the minivan comment might seem a bit, I don’t know, harsh.
But the truth must be told, no matter how harsh, and to get someone’s attention you occasionally have to grab them by the gray hoodie Shane Steichen was wearing Monday and shout. If the minivan analogy gets his attention – or yours – good.
Because playing it safe is for losers.
Also fair: Gus Bradley is a bad defensive coordinator
OK, enough of what Buzz Williams says about Gus Bradley. What did Steichen say Monday, when asked about their philosophical alignment? Here it is, word for word:
“I worked with Gus for four years at the Chargers,” Steichen said of their time on Anthony Lynn’s staff from 2017-20. “I’ve got a background with Gus – and again, I believe in continuity and I’ve got a ton of respect for Gus.”
What he never said:
“Gus will be back.”
What you might forget: Steichen didn’t hire Bradley. He kept him, yes, but that’s not the same thing. Steichen was hired here in February 2023, and with so much to do he left the defensive staff mostly as is. He’d already worked with Bradley, as he’s said, so he knew their personalities would mesh. Colts General Manager Chris Ballard no doubt vouched for Bradley, whose defensive unit in 2022 was the “strength” of the weakest season in these parts since 2-14 in 2011.
How bad were those 2022 Colts? Put it like this: Bradley’s defense finished the season ranked 28th in the league – four spots from last – in points allowed, and in that story that caught Buzz Williams’ eye, these are probably the words that did it:
“Bradley’s unit has carried the team this season.”
Yup, I wrote those words, but that was then. It was written the day of Saturday’s debut, when we hadn’t yet learned about him as a leader. All we knew was: Colts 25, Raiders 20. Jeff Saturday’s record: 1-0. Headline: “This Colts victory was for everyone who doubted Jeff Saturday.”
Right.
Things change, you know? Especially when more information arises. We now have two years of watching the Colts defense under Bradley, and in both seasons the Colts were 28th in points allowed. Let’s be fair and note Bradley was playing with Chris Ballard’s misjudgment tied behind his back. Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker were the Colts’ Game 1 starters at cornerbacks, and when they were injured (Flowers) or about as good as expected (Baker), they started rookies JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones. Those two young cornerbacks could be excellent some year, but this wasn’t the year.
The Colts, however, set a franchise record for sacks this season. Bradley deserves some credit for that, same as Ballard for acquiring DeForest Buckner, drafting Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo and finding Samson Ebukam.
But the system hasn’t changed, and it’s a system so conservative that, with one exception – the double pick-six game against Carolina in November – Bradley has done what no offensive coordinator has been able to do: made Kenny Moore II disappear. Bradley deploys the playmaking, game-wrecking Moore and the rest of his cornerbacks like we’re still doing social distancing, far from receivers, giving quarterbacks easy passes until they make a mistake. The Colts’ defensive motto under Bradley:
Maybe the other team will help us win!
Meanwhile, Steichen was removing the lampshade from his head long enough to lead this offense – missing quarterback Anthony Richardson for 13 games and running back Jonathan Taylor for seven, and short of talent at receiver and tight end – to 10th in the league in scoring. Steichen’s special teams coordinator, Brian Mason, wasn’t always effective but he was trying things like getting weird and blocking two punts to beat Tennessee in December.
And then there’s the Colts’ defense under Gus Bradley, conservative like Barry Goldwater and just as successful on the biggest stage.
As for Steichen’s comments Monday, two things had my attention. No, not that he prefers continuity.
One, he didn’t say Gus Bradley will be back.
Two, he did say this:
“I’ll meet with the players today,” he was saying Monday. “Meet with coaches tomorrow.”
Let’s see who advances on Super Tuesday.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts Shane Steichen should cut loose defensive coordinator Gus Bradley
