Former Colts veteran defensive coordinator resurfaces with AFC South rival

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has been hired as the Tennessee Titans new defensive coordinator under recently hired head coach Robert Saleh:

The 59-year-old Bradley reunites with Saleh, who returned as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator last season and worked alongside Bradley, formerly the 49ers assistant head coach in 2025. The two also previously worked together during the Seattle Seahawks prior prolific ‘Legion of Boom Days,’ when Bradley was their defensive coordinator and Saleh served as a defensive quality control coach under him.

Of course, Colts fans know Bradley very well, who served as Indianapolis defensive coordinator from 2022-24, under both former head coach Frank Reich and current head coach Shane Steichen.

During that span, Bradley’s Colts defenses ranked 24th (2024), 28th (2023), and 28th (2022) and were much maligned by the Horseshoe faithful for deploying too vanilla of defenses, routinely sitting in Cover 2/3 soft zone coverage schemes. However, some of it was a lack of defensive talent, personnel-wise collectively.

That being said, it seems likely that Saleh, as a defensive minded head coach, will call the defense for the Titans next season, with the veteran Bradley assisting him where needed.

The Titans also recently hired former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll as their new offensive coordinator, who should help 2025 #1 overall pick Cam Ward’s continued growth and development at quarterback, so it’s shaping up to be an experienced coaching staff under Saleh.