After being let go at the end of the 2024 season by the Indianapolis Colts, Gus Bradley has joined the San Francisco 49ers, although his exact role on the coaching staff is not yet known.
Bradley's contract with the Colts was up at the end of the season, and it was a foregone conclusion that it was not be renewed. The Indianapolis defense seriously suffered under Bradley, with fans calling for his firing all season. Analysts, also, were fiercely critical, particularly when it came to stopping the run.
"It's been a couple of weeks the Colts have had a hard time stopping the run," Bill Belichick said on the Pat McAfee Show. "They stay in the same front for the most part. They don't really make a lot of defensive adjustments. They kind of do what they do. Gus Bradley believes in execution and doing the same thing over and over again, but I think, in some respects, that simplifies things for the offense, and so they just didn't do a good job at all in the running game, and I think everybody kind of knew that that was the kind of game it was going to be."
Still, despite his less-than-stellar performance as defensive coordinator, the 49ers chose to hire him, giving the embattled coach another chance.
Longtime NFL coach Gus Bradley is joining the #49ers coaching staff, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 7, 2025
Bradley, 58, had Robert Saleh on his staff in Seattle and Jacksonville. Now they’re reunited in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/CS1cCrqtUj
Before landing in Indianapolis, Bradley had been the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, a step down from his position as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars before that. His experience in Jacksonville wasn't much better than in Indianapolis; he finished four seasons with a 14-48 record. Presumably, he will be working under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was just rehired by the 49ers. Saleh has worked with Bradley before, both with the Jaguars and the Seattle Seahawks.