Brian Bratton enters his first season as Stanford’s Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach in 2026. An offensive mind with experience under one of the best NFL wide receivers this century, Bratton returns to the college game for the first time since spring 2022.
Bratton spent the last four seasons as an offensive quality control and assistant wide receivers coach for the Indianapolis Colts, working under wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne. He played an integral part in the Colts offensive improvements over the last four years, specifically with the team’s younger wide receiver room.
During his four years on the Colts staff, Indianapolis improved offensively every season. Joining Shane Steichen’s staff prior to the 2022 season, Bratton helped the Colts go from 30th in the NFL in points in 2022 to 10th in his second season, with the team going from 27th in total yards to 15th.
The 2025 season saw the Colts get off to the best offensive start in franchise history. Through the team’s first six games, in which Indianapolis went 5-1, the Colts scored 194 points (32.3 per game), the most over the first six games in the history of the franchise. Indianapolis finished the season averaging 27.4 points per game, eighth-best in the NFL, and the team’s 466 points scored were the team’s most in a season since 2004.
Not only were the Colts prolific at scoring points, but their offense was dynamic both in the air and on the ground. The team finished ninth in the league in passing offense, while featuring Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, who finished third in the NFL with 1,585 rushing yards and led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns.
Bratton played a key role in the development of Michael Pittman Jr. into one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. In his first season on staff, Bratton helped Pittman Jr. finish the season with the fifth-most catches in the NFL (109), for a career-high 1,152 receiving yards.
In 2024, the Colts had three receivers with at least 800 receiving yards (Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Pittman Jr.), with Pierce leading the NFL in yards per reception at 22.3. That was the tip of the iceberg for Pierce, who eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career in 2025, while leading the NFL in yards per reception for a second consecutive season. The last player to do so was Flipper Anderson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1989-90.
Bratton was a member of the Furman coaching staff for seven seasons, returning to his alma mater as the program’s wide receivers coach before adding numerous titles, including co-offensive coordinator by the spring of 2022. He left the program after helping lead the Paladins to the second round of the FCS Playoffs in 2017.
Furman finished with the top offense in the Southern Conference twice with Bratton on staff (2017, 2019). His special teams unit was also strong during his stint as special teams coordinator, where kicker Grayson Atkins made a SoCon record 18-consecutive field goals and was named an AP All-America placekicker.
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Bratton spent six seasons (2007-12) in the Canadian Football League (CFL), seeing action as a wide receiver and return specialist and helping the Montreal Alouettes capture a pair of Grey Cup championships. He capped his CFL career by receiving the league’s 2012 Tom Pate Award, which honors a player who displays outstanding sportsmanship and has made a significant contribution to his team, community, and association.
Bratton, a 2011 Furman Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, earned SoCon Freshman of the Year and All-America accolades in 2001 after averaging a nation-best 37.2 yards on kickoff returns, three of which he returned for touchdowns. He caught 131 passes for 1,826 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career, helping lead Furman to a pair of SoCon championships (2001 & ‘04) and three playoff appearances, including an FCS national runner-up finish.
Bratton and his wife Ashley have three children: Blaze, Brynlee, and Breeze, and a dog, Baxter.
THE BRATTON FILE
- 2026-present- Stanford (The Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach)
- 2022-26- Indianapolis Colts (Offensive quality control)
- 2022- Furman (Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers)
- 2021- Furman (Passing game coordinator/wide receivers)
- 2017-20- Furman (Special teams coordinator/wide receivers)
- 2015-16- Furman (Wide receivers)
- 2013-14- North Greenville (Wide receivers)