Is Gus Bradley on the hot seat? After the Houston debacle and two straight years of sub-mediocrity, he should be

The Colts were 28th in points allowed two years in a row. They got run off the field by the Texans' rushing attack. At some point, somebody needs to be held accountable.

This isn’t just a make-or-break season for Chris Ballard. He’s got some company on the hot seat and his name is defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and he still has a whole lot to prove. This is his third year leading the Colts’ defense, the last two seasons finishing 28^th in the league in points allowed. That’s not nearly good enough, especially with the investment the Colts have made in bolstering their defense by re-signing so many of their own to extensions.

Then came Sunday and that disastrous performance, giving up 29 points (Houston coach DeMeco Ryans left four points on the field with poor game mismanagement), allowing 213 yards rushing, 159 specifically to running back Joe Mixon. Remember, this is a Houston team that finished 29^th in rushing last year. Sure, they added Mixon, but he’s not Walter Freaking Payton. All the money they spent on extensions for their own players, especially along the defensive line, and this is the kind of performance they get in a massively important divisional game at home? Seriously? I mean, I’m all for continuity if you’ve actually won something in recent years, but what has this franchise done? Nothing.

It’s on Bradley now, and it’s only going to get more difficult with news that JuJu Brents, the star-crossed cornerback, is likely done for the season with a knee injury. Gosh, who could have foreseen that the Colts’ shocking lack of depth in the secondary might come back and bite them in the derriere? I don’t know…EVERYBODY? Now they’re going to make a go of it with folks like Chris Lammons, heaven help them. It might not impact them this week when it appears they will face off with Green Bay backup quarterback Malik Willis, but down the road when the Colts face some quality quarterbacks, this looks like a very big problem.

Anyway…Bradley.

Two years in a row, 28^th in points allowed. After one game this season, they’re at the bottom of most defensive statistical categories. At some point, somebody – yeah, that’s Bradley – has to be held accountable. This is a franchise that, like every other franchise, claims to hold people accountable. I don’t see it. I see them rolling with a man who simply hasn’t gotten it done with his vanilla Cover 3 defense and his historical lack of blitzing and disguising coverages. So two days after the Colts were beaten in time of possession 40 minutes to 20 and gave up six scoring drives on 10 possessions (it would have been seven if not for the clock mismanagement at the end of the half), I asked Bradley a question: