Tag: Lou Anarumo

Bengals’ Lou Anarumo hailed as one of NFL’s best defensive coordinators

Lou gets some love for his work with the Bengals.

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Cincinnati Bengals fans know all too well how good they have it with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

But the greater NFL world, at least until last year, seemed to mostly sleep on just how good Anarumo’s defenses performed while not possessing a ton of big names and continuing to get strong seasons out of projects such as Eli Apple.

But the proverbial tide appears to be turning on this front, with Anarumo sitting as the second-overall ranked defensive coordinator in a new project from Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema:

The Bengals’ coaching staff, as a whole, has ascended the ranks of reputation and recognition over the past few seasons, but Anarumo has arguably risen the most. In 2019, his first season as defensive coordinator, Cincinnati allowed 26.3 points per game, 25th in the league. Since then, the team has ranked 21st in 2020, 13th in 2021 and fifth in 2022, allowing just 19.6 points per game last season. They were also a top-five unit in expected points allowed per play in 2022.

It just again goes to show how lucky Zac Taylor and the Bengals are that they continue to enjoy an unprecedented amount of coordinator continuity despite multiple years as a Super Bowl contender now.

Anarumo returns alongside his fellow coordinators Brian Callahan and Darrin Simmons and will likely again put up a strong performance as he both seeks to push the Bengals to a Super Bowl and continue to have his name come up in head-coaching conversations.

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Lou Anarumo talks about his defensive success with Bengals

Fun comments from Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

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The Cincinnati Bengals defense has lost some big defensive players in Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell this offseason after being dominant in the postseason the past few years.

Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com talked to defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo about how he has had so much success with the Bengals so far.

Louie Cioffi, the Bengals defensive quality control coach, said that Anarumo has taken the best of all of the places he’s been and the coaches he’s worked with and put that into his playbook.

“It’s been on display the last two years and helped put us in situations to win championships,” Cioffi said.

Fresno State defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle was at the Bengals’ practices when they were at the Kettering Health Practice Fields and he said they have the type of camaraderie that he feels in a college locker room, and the players are very good at adapting when they need to in game.

“You can’t change your (core) so how do you tweak it with a different guy playing the dime position or a nickel that can play safety or a safety that can get in the box and play the run and corners that can make it look like they’re in man, but they’re playing a zone.” Coyle said.

Here’s what Anarumo said about his defense, per Hobson:

“The league is nickel. Pass defense is now 70 percent of the time. To say you’re 4-3 or 3-4, everybody is doing the same four-down stuff. And then you sprinkle it in. Five down, six down, whatever you do. And we acquired the kind of players we felt like we needed to do it.”

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Bengals send Lou Anarumo to USC pro day

A notable draft nugget for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals sent defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to USC’s pro day this week.

It’s an interesting nugget from NFL Network’s Bridget Condon, who highlighted Anarumo after pointing out that no head coaches or general managers made the trip.

It’s pretty telling that Anarumo is the one to rep the Bengals, too. Trojans defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu is a strong fit for the team as an interior pass-rusher, potentially as early as the second round.

Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon is another possible target in the mid-rounds who might make sense with the team needing better depth regardless of whether Eli Apple comes back.

That makes for two USC names Bengals fans should get to know, as this is one of the more prominent Bengals pro day notes we’ve seen during this draft process so far.

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Lou Anarumo makes Bengals appealing to free agents like Nick Scott

Nick Scott says Lou Anarumo played a role in his coming to the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals have become a hot destination for free agents because of the team’s contending status, among other things.

Part of that is due to the prowess of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

The “mad scientist” himself has earned head coaching looks over the last two years because of his versatile schemes and ability to squeak the most out of the talent on the roster.

It’s one of the bigger reasons Nick Scott, the newest addition to the defense, came away impressed with his visit before signing.

“I was able to meet with Coach Lou and once he walked me through all the things they do and how he likes to play, I thought this is a no-brainer. This is where I want to play ball,” Scott said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It was a little bit of everything. His reputation and how he presented his defense. He’d be somebody actually able to explain the defense to me, not just what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it. Anytime you get coaches that are good at explaining it that way and getting the team to understand that, it makes for some good football.”

Scott has big shoes to fill at a safety spot that lost Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates last year. He’ll have to bring along sophomore Dax Hill next to him while quickly digesting Anarumo’s complicated playbook.

But seeing the likes of Eli Apple experience career renaissances and what the unit has achieved over the last few years under Anarumo? That’s coming up big for the Bengals on the open market right now.

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Bengals’ Lou Anarumo listed near Eric Bieniemy as coaching snub

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a big snub during this hiring cycle.

The Cincinnati Bengals think they have several future head coaches on the current staff and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo tops that list.

Anarumo has been in the conversation for a couple of years now and was just one of the two finalists after the Super Bowl for the job in Arizona before the Cardinals went a different direction.

For Pro Football Talk’s Peter King Anarumo has started to approach becoming the most overlooked, deserving candidate not named Eric Bieniemy:

“5. I think a few coaches got short shrift—none more than Eric Bieniemy—in the head-coach derby in the past five weeks. Another prominent one, to me, is Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Anarumo was the architect of a defense that had a three-game winning streak against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes until the AFC title game, when Kansas City broke the schneid on a last-second field goal, 23-20. The Cincinnati defense, in the game’s last 33 minutes, held Mahomes to punt, punt, TD, fumble, punt, punt, field goal. Anarumo’s a dynamic person, his players love him, and yet he got to the finals of just one job—Arizona. Good for the Bengals that he stays, but I hope he gets longer looks next coaching cycle.”

Unfortunately for Anarumo, it feels harder for defensive-minded coaches to get looks right now. He’s currently serving on the staff of Zac Taylor, one of the big offensive trend-setters whose continued success proves the validity of the approach.

Anarumo’s name won’t just leave the conversation now though and he’s likely to get a job soon. But until he does, the Bengals will enjoy rare continuity the rest of the league doesn’t.

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Bengals players thrilled to get Lou Anarumo back for another season

Bengals players are as happy as fans to see Lou Anarumo back.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will return next season after finishing as a finalist for the head coach position with the Arizona Cardinals this week.

And Bengals players couldn’t be happier.

Take star linebacker Logan Wilson, for instance, who went public with comments about the development right away.

“Selfishly, I’m ecstatic he’ll be back but he’d still make a great head coach,” Logan Wilson told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Glad to be in his system for another year. He’s a players’ coach and guys buy into his system because of that,” Wilson said. “Which in turn allows guys to play free and effectively.”

While Anarumo is beyond qualified for a role as head coach given his amoeba-styled defense that can suit any opponent and change on a dime, never mind his halftime adjustments, it’s hard for defensive-minded coaches to break through right now.

Given the constant praise from players about Anarumo’s ability to coach up guys and get the best of them at every turn — never mind the results on the field — it’s no great shock to see players hyped.

With Anarumo back, the Bengals will achieve an unheard-of level of consistency by keeping both coordinators around the head coach. As Hobson notes, this length of consistency in this regard hasn’t happened since the Paul Brown days.

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Why Cardinals picked Jonathan Gannon over Bengals’ Lou Anarumo

The Bengals will retain Lou Anarumo after the Cards threw out a surprise.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a finalist for the head coach position with the Arizona Cardinals but lost out in the final moments to Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

The news came as a rather big surprise given what Anarumo has accomplished over the last few seasons in Cincinnati, overseeing a defensive rebuild that has held up very well against the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

But as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. explained, a key relationship made the difference: “Jonathan Gannon was quietly a front-runner for the job from the minute Monti Ossenfort landed the GM spot. The two got to know each other over the last year, and Ossenfort sees Gannon as having the ‘it’ factor necessary in a head coach.”

In other words, while Anarumo got multiple interviews and impressed, familiarity with Gannon from key figures in the Cardinals front office nudged the decision a certain way.

While it’s incredibly unfortunate for Anarumo given his resume, the Bengals as a whole can’t complain too much. His returning is nothing but good news as the defense gets ready to likely lose a handful of key players in free agency. It also means with key offensive Bengals coaches returning that the team will get another year of that rare continuity most teams don’t enjoy.

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Bengals set to retain Lou Anarumo as Cards choose Jonathan Gannon

An update on Bengals’ Lou Anarumo.

The Cincinnati Bengals appear to be keeping the entire gang of coaches together in 2023, once again extending a rare stretch of coaching continuity for a Super Bowl contender.

Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Arizona Cardinals will finalize a deal with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to become the team’s next head coach.

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was the other finalist for the job and was still in the running when the announcement went public.

Given Anarumo’s performances against the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen over the years, it’s more than a little surprising.

The news comes on the heels of the team finding out it will get to retain both offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher around Joe Burrow and the passing attack despite interest from outside teams.

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Former Vikings OC could be Cardinals’ OC if Lou Anarumo hired

If Anarumo is head coach, Klint Kubiak is expected to be his offensive coordinator.

The Arizona Cardinals could decide on Tuesday who their next head coach will be. One candidate is Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

As with all defensive candidates, because of how the NFL is, the big question is who the offensive coordinator and playcaller would be.

For Anarumo, it is a coach he has not previously worked with.

According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, it would be former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Kubiak was the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos last season. He was an offensive assistant for them as well in 2016-2018.

He was with the Vikings in 2013-2014 and again from 2019-2021. He was offensive quality control coach in his first stint, quarterbacks coach from 2019-2020 and offensive coordinator in 2021.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Around the North: Cardinals HC gig down to Bengals DC Lou Anarumo and Jonathan Gannon

The Cardinals are down to two finalists, and there are implications in Cleveland regardless.

The Arizona Cardinals are down to two finalists for their head coaching gig, and both have implications for the Cleveland Browns. Between Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Jonathan Gannon, the Cardinals may be ready to name their next head coach as early as tonight. If Anarumo is the choice for the Cardinals, then a rival of the Browns loses a top-notch defensive coordinator.

If Gannon is the choice, then the Browns may lose their quarterbacks coach as Drew Petzing is rumored to be a top choice to become Gannon’s offensive coordinator. Regardless, this is a situation to monitor closely.

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