As the Indianapolis Colts were interviewing candidates to fill their defensive coordinator vacancy, former quarterback Philip Rivers reached out to Gus Bradley to let him know just what the latter would be getting into.
Bradley, who impressed during his interview with the team, got some big insight form Rivers on what the organization is all about. Suffice it to say, Bradley came away impressed with the praise Rivers gave the Colts organization.
That relationship with Rivers—stemming back to their days with the Los Angeles Chargers—was a factor in Bradley accepting the role as the new defensive coordinator.
“Now, as far as this organization, once he found out that I was interviewing here, it wasn’t, ‘Well, I’m going to get involved in this.’ I think he did maybe the opposite. He just said, ‘Hey Gus (Bradley), are you considering it and where are you at?’ He said, ‘I’m just going to tell you what I think of the organization,’” Bradley told the media on Wednesday. “I can tell you, it wasn’t five seconds. It was a long talk about first of all, Frank (Reich) and Chris (Ballard) and the Irsays and the ownership here, the community, the training room and the equipment room and the locker room, the people, and it just kept going on and on. It was like, it can’t be this good, can it? It was one of those type things.”
Rivers may have only spent one season with the Colts in 2020 but he certainly made an impact. The veteran quarterback helped lead the Colts to a playoff berth as a wild-card team and even though they eventually lost to the Buffalo Bills, his impact was felt immensely.
Bradley and Rivers spent three seasons together essentially competing against each other. Rivers would lead the offense trying to get the best of Bradley’s defense—a test that the latter feels helped evolved his scheme.
It’s a relationship that formed naturally and one that still holds strong today.
“There’s only so many people that you develop really, really close relationships. It is a relationship business. He ranks right up there for me and for our family. I think the world of him,” Bradley said of Rivers. “We talk very, very often and even though we weren’t together, there’s just a very close relationship and he means a lot to me.”
After speaking with Rivers and then having his meeting with Frank Reich and Chris Ballard, Bradley is certainly grateful for the opportunity.
“Very appreciative of the Colts organization, very appreciative of my time with both Frank (Reich) and Chris (Ballard) – tremendous meetings learning more and more about the organization,” Bradley said. “Tremendous relationship with Philip Rivers in my time with the Chargers, and he also gave me some insight on the short time that he was here. But the overall process, how it was handled, the interview process gave me a very good idea what the whole organization was like. I just feel very grateful for the opportunity.”
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