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OTHER POSITION COACHES: LB Coach, DL Coach, DB Coach

 

As our own Rashaad Mcginnis reported, the Colts have hired Gus Bradley as the new Defensive Coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. With many Colts fans excited about the prospects of hiring Gus Bradley, I figured it would be a good idea to talk about who could hop on the Gus Bus with Gus Bradley! Will he bring anybody with him from Las Vegas? Is there anyone he will add from past stops like Seattle, Dallas, or Los Angeles? What kind of coaches should Gus Bradley look to bring with him? Who would make the most sense for Gus Bradley to take with him? These are all questions that Colts fans have, and I will attempt to answer these questions in this article. With that being said, I would like to examine the next position coach in this series: Safties Coach.

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S Coach Plan A: Chris Harris

Recently, Chris Harris was the Defensive Backs coach for the Washington Football Team (now the Washington Commanders); he coached under Gus Bradley in Los Angeles as an Assistant Defensive Backs coach. In Los Angeles, he worked directly with Ron Milus, one of Gus Bradley’s assistants in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and the two of them produced a top-level unit. Chris Harris was also a finalist for the Defensive Coordinator position in Indianapolis. Furthermore, Chris was the rumored leader for the job at one point, so he was held in high regard by the Colts, and he has worked closely with Gus Bradley. It would make a lot of sense to bring him on as he is young, knows how to develop talent, and as a former player, he can relate well to the players. Joining the Colts as a safety coach would be a lateral move for him in a sense, so it may not make sense for him to move on. However, the Colts have a much more talented safety group than the Washington Football Team, so working with better players and familiar coaches could get him on board.

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S Coach Plan B: Marquand Manuel

A former safety, now safeties coach of the New York Jets, Marquand Manuel has been a safeties coach under Dan Quinn and worked as an assistant special teams coach in Seattle when Gus Bradley was there. Dan Quinn has ties to Gus Bradley, and the two go back a long time and have similar defensive philosophies. Also, he is working under Robert Saleh, who was mentored by Gus Bradley in Seattle early in his career. Marquand even interviewed to be the defensive coordinator for Gus Bradley in Jacksonville; though he did not get the job, it is clear that Gus Bradley holds him in high regard. Marquand ended up as a Defensive Coordinator in Atlanta under Dan Quinn and did a good job leading a highly ranked defense in multiple categories. Marquand has the experience and knows the position and scheme that Coach Gus Bradley wants to run in Indianapolis. 

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S Coach Plan C: Jerome Henderson

Being in the NFL for over 30 years as a player and as a position coach, Jerome Henderson knows a lot about the game and a lot about coaching defensive backs. Jerome Henderson was recently the defensive backs coach for the New York Giants, who are in the midst of a coaching change right now, and it is not clear if Jerome will be brought back. Going back to the Gus Bradley coaching tree, he has coached under Dan Quinn in Atlanta as the Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, leading his secondary to the Super Bowl. Jerome Henderson had the Falcons at the top of the league during the peak years of Dan Quinn’s tenure. Jerome Henderson would be a sound hire and understands the scheme that Gus Bradley wants to run.

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Series Wrap-Up

I hope that throughout this series you’ve seen how well connected Gus Bradley is and the type of coaches he could bring to the Indianapolis Colts. Gus Bradley is going to employ a defense that is built on aggressiveness. Gus will usher in a new era of Colts defense and bring a completely different mentality to the Indianapolis Colts. I hope you are ready for next season because it will be entertaining to watch, and this team will win games with it’s defense.

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