The Indianapolis Colts are looking for a new defensive coordinator.
The team announced Monday night that Gus Bradley would not be brought back for a fourth season, though the writing had been on the wall for a while. During Bradley’s three-year tenure in Indianapolis, the team ranked 28th in scoring defense in 2022, 28th again in 2023 and 24th in 2024. The final nail in the coffin might have been Indianapolis’ collapse against the New York Giants in Week 17. New York entered the matchup averaging just 14.3 points per game and exploded for 45 points, the most points it’s scored in any game in nine years.
After that loss, Bradley was asked whether he was concerned about his job security.
“I think I would worry about it if I wasn’t embarrassed,” Bradley said. “I don’t know if that answered your question. I think my focus right now is, I’m still upset and frustrated, and we’ve got to get this right.”
The Colts will now try to get this right with someone else. Here are 10 defensive coordinator candidates Indianapolis could consider to replace Bradley (listed alphabetically).
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Dennis Allen, former New Orleans Saints head coach
Allen, 52, spent three seasons (18-25) leading the Saints before he was fired in November after a 2-7 start. Though his bona fides as a head coach are fair to question, he’s long been a high-caliber defense mind in the NFL. Before being promoted to head coach, Allen served as the Saints’ defensive coordinator under Sean Payton and enjoyed quite a bit of success. From 2017 to 2023, Allen’s defenses finished in the top 10 in points allowed five times. The only two seasons his defenses missed, they were still ranked in the top half of the league.
Shane Steichen saw some appeal in working with a veteran defensive coordinator with experience as a head coach, and though things didn’t work out well with Bradley in the end, perhaps that’s still the type of coach Steichen is looking for.
Lou Anarumo, former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator
Anarumo’s time in Cincinnati came to an end this week, as the Bengals fired him after his defense spiraled the past two seasons. The Bengals finished 25th in points allowed (25.5) this season. It was a stunning fall from grace for the 58-year-old coach, whose defenses were the catalyst for a Bengals team that made back-to-back runs to the AFC Championship Game in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Anarumo was even a hot name on the head-coaching market in 2023 but ended up sticking in Cincinnati, where things fell apart.
Why they fell apart will be on Anarumo to explain, but it appears he is going to be a desired DC candidate elsewhere. It seems those around the league believe getting away from Cincinnati will help him rediscover the magic he wielded during his early days with the Bengals. If he ends up with the Colts, it will be somewhat of a homecoming. He spent eight seasons (2004-11) with Purdue as its defensive backs coach.
Mike Caldwell, Las Vegas Raiders run game coordinator/linebackers coach
If there’s one thing Caldwell’s defenses do well, it’s stop the run, which was a continual issue for the Colts during Bradley’s tenure. Indianapolis never finished better than 21st in rushing yards allowed per game during Bradley’s three seasons. In fact, the Colts dipped from 21st in 2022 to 24th in 2023 and 2024.
Caldwell, on the other hand, is part of a Raiders defense that ranked 13th in rushing yards allowed per game this season. The 53-year-old coach also had prior defensive coordinator experience with a two-year stint in Jacksonville from 2022 to 2023 before the whole defensive staff was fired. During those two years, the Jaguars recorded 25-plus takeaways in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 18 years.
Matt Eberflus, former Chicago Bears coach
For many, the lasting memory of Eberflus this season will be the Bears’ Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions. That would be his last game as Chicago’s head coach, as he inexplicably stood on the sideline and didn’t call a timeout as the clock ticked down in a 23-20 loss. It might be hard for Eberflus, 54, to live that down during this hiring cycle, but before Eberflus flamed out with the Bears, who fired a coach midseason for the first time in their 105-year history, he was a pretty successful defensive coordinator in Indianapolis.
The Colts ranked 11th or better in scoring defense in three of Eberflus’ four seasons from 2018 to 2021. In fact, the Colts were the only NFL defensive unit to be ranked in the top 10 in scoring, run defense and takeaways each in 2020 and 2021. And remember, Eberflus didn’t inherit a great unit. The Colts had finished 30th in the NFL in scoring and total yards in 2017. Eberflus was a major contributor in helping orchestrate the defense’s turnaround.
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Al Harris, Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach/defensive backs coach
Harris has been the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach for the past five seasons and added assistant head coach to his title this season. If the 50-year-old coach wants to branch out on his own, he should command serious interest around the league. Dallas ranks No. 1 with 73 interceptions by its defensive backs since 2020, which was Harris’ first season at the helm.
Harris is known for implementing an aggressive and physical playing style that is contrary to Bradley’s bend-but-don’t-break approach, so that change in philosophy might be welcome in Indianapolis. Harris is also a Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer and two-time Pro Bowler, so his accomplishments as a player should help him easily garner respect among Colts players.
One other notable connection: Harris spent six seasons coaching in Kansas City (2013-18). Chris Ballard was in Kansas City from 2013 to 2016, so the Colts general manager should be familiar with Harris’ work.
Jim Leonhard, Denver Broncos defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach
Leonhard, 42, hasn’t been in the NFL coaching game for very long, but the 10-year NFL veteran is quickly developing a sterling reputation and is seen as a rising star in the league. One reason: His defensive backs unit played like one of the best in the NFL at times this season, highlighted by its ability to prevent big plays. The Broncos ranked sixth in opponents’ explosive pass play rate this season. The Colts, meanwhile, finished the season ranked 23rd.
Leonhard has helped turn Pat Surtain II into an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate while developing the young talent around him, including third-year cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, second-year CB Riley Moss and safeties P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones. Leonhard also boasts a long list of Wisconsin Badgers pupils running around the league after being a highly successful defensive coordinator at Wisconsin from 2017 to 2022. He also served as the program’s interim head coach in 2022.
Wink Martindale, Michigan defensive coordinator
Both in terms of style and scheme, Martindale would be a change from what Colts fans have become accustomed to lately, that’s for sure. Where Bradley and Eberflus were more laid-back in their demeanors as DC, Martindale prefers to shoot from the hip. That attitude aligns with his aggressive approach to calling defenses, as well. Martindale loves to blitz, as his Baltimore Ravens and Giants units from the past decade always ranked near the top of the league in blitz rate.
Martindale, 61, had a falling out with Giants coach Brian Daboll during his second season in New York that cost him his job, so his style isn’t for everyone. But Martindale’s defense at Michigan was excellent this season, finishing with the country’s No. 11 defense by yards allowed (307 per game) and No. 19 defense by points allowed (19.9).
Christian Parker, Philadelphia Eagles passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach
Parker is only 33, so his youth might make a team like the Colts hesitant to take a chance on him amid everything else the franchise is trying to correct. However, there’s no denying the success of the defenses Parker has been a part of in Denver and now Philadelphia.
Parker was the Broncos defensive backs coach from 2021 to 2023, helping the team finish eighth in yards allowed per game in two of his three seasons. Now, in his first season in Philly alongside defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Parker has helped the Eagles rise from 26th in yards allowed per game in 2023 to No. 1 in 2024. The Eagles also ranked second in points allowed per game (17.8).
Aubrey Pleasant, Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator/assistant head coach
The 38-year-old Pleasant is considered another rising star in the coaching ranks, though don’t let the age fool you: He’s been at this a while. He first showed up on the NFL scene in 2013 as an intern with the Cleveland Browns. Four years later, Sean McVay hired him — for the first time — to be the Rams’ cornerbacks coach under then-DC Wade Phillips. A couple of years later, he took an intriguing job, serving as an offensive consultant on Matt LaFleur’s Packers staff. The next person on this list, a certain former head coach of the New York Jets, has that same role now.
After the year in Green Bay, Pleasant landed back with McVay in 2023 as the DBs coach and passing game coordinator. He was promoted by McVay to assistant head coach before this season and has helped a unit without a lot of resources invested in it fare well as the Rams defense was being rebuilt this season. His experience working with some excellent defense minds, including Phillips, Brandon Staley and Raheem Morris, could make him an intriguing candidate. Of course, McVay assistants are always popular this time of year.
Robert Saleh, Packers offensive consultant/former Jets head coach
Saleh’s had an interesting 2024 campaign, to say the least. First, he was fired after a 2-3 start with the Jets, ending his three-plus-year tenure as head coach. Then, he was picked up by his former college roommate and Packers coach LaFleur. Saleh has served as an offensive consultant with the Packers, and his role is to provide a defensive perspective to one of the NFL’s top offenses. That’s probably not a bad idea considering Saleh’s success as the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, which he parlayed into the Jets job.
New York finished last in points allowed per game in Saleh’s first season, but he quickly turned things around. The Jets rose to fourth in points allowed per game in 2022, dipped to 12th last year and bounced back again this season by ranking fifth through their first five games before Saleh was fired. In his absence, the Jets ended the 2024 campaign ranked 20th in points allowed per game.
(Photos of Robert Saleh and Matt Eberflus: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
