While the Indianapolis Colts have decided to keep general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen, other positions are not as safe. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was let go, and has been replaced by Lou Anarumo.
That is leading to more new hires, and for now, that means Richard Smith, the current linebackers coach for the Colts, is gone. In his place, the Colts have hired James Bettcher. This is not altogether surprising, as the pair worked together in Cincinnati.
Ron Milus, the defensive backs coach, has also left Indianapolis, meaning there is at least one more open coaching position that will need to be filled.
Who is James Bettcher?
Bettcher has been a football coach since 2004, originally coaching in college before transitioning to the NFL, where his first job was with the Colts. In 2012, he was hired by Bruce Arians as the outside linebackers coach, and followed Arians to the Arizona Cardinals, where he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2015.
Under Bettcher, the Cardinals defense thrived. He had hoped to be named head coach, but was snubbed in favor of Steve Wilks, which seem to have led Bettcher to leave Arizona for the New York Giants in 2018, where he was again the defensive coordinator. In 2020, he was not rehired, and didn't have a position with any team that season.
Bettcher seemingly has had to rebuild his career from the ground up since then. He was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as a senior defensive assistant, and was then hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as the linebackers coach, where he worked with Anarumo. Bettcher was fired at the end of the 2024 season, but clearly, Anarumo thinks highly of him, as Bettcher was hired fairly quickly after Anarumo himself was hired.
It seems likely that Bettcher will be happy to return to the Colts; he is originally from Indiana. However, he will have his work cut out for him, as the Colts' linebackers have had major problems with missed tackles and, apparently, ego problems.