Lou

Anarumo

Anarumo spent the 2025 serving as the Colts’ defensive coordinator after being fired by the Bengals in 2024. He held the same position with them for six years. Anarumo also received interview requests from the Giants and Titans during this interview cycle.

Anarumo, 59, is once again a popular head coaching candidate, landing interviews with the Titans and Giants before those teams filled their head coaching spots with Robert Saleh and John Harbaugh, respectively. Buffalo is seeking a new head coach after firing Sean McDernmott, one of the league’s winningest coaches over the past decade. The Colts under Anarumo in 2025 finished 23rd in yards allowed and 21st in points allowed, with their best finish in any category being allowing only 3.9 rushing yards per attempt.

They’re the second team to add the Colts DC to their interview list, after the Titans. Anarumo appears to have rejuvenated his reputation after being fired in Cincinnati after 2024 in a hurry. The Colts finished 23rd in yards allowed and 21st in points allowed, with their best finish in any category being allowing only 3.9 rushing yards per attempt.

One of four requests on the day for the Titans, Anarumo was a finalist for the Cardinals job in 2023 when it went to Jonathan Gannon, but saw only defensive coordinator requests last offseason after he was fired. The Colts defense was more scrappy than terrific in 2025 — though they dealt with plenty of injuries at the cornerback position that helps explain some of that — but NFL decision-makers continue to be enamored with Anarumo anyway.

Anarumo’s role in improving the Colts defense this season could leave him with his choice of head coaching jobs in the offseason, assuming a handful of head coaches will get the axe in January and February. The Colts are allowing the tenth lowest EPA per play this season. They’ve been particularly tough against opposing passing offenses. The Giants, meanwhile, sport one of the league’s most putrid defenses in need of a total overhaul. Anarumo, 59, served as the Giants’ defensive backs coach in 2018 before landing the Bengals’ defensive coordinator job.

Anarumo’s defensive implosion last season wasn’t enough to keep teams away this offseason. Once considered a potential head coaching candidate, the veteran coordinator saw his defense rank 25th in points and yards allowed per game last season, as their inability to keep points off the board proved to be enough to keep the Bengals out of the postseason despite MVP-caliber play from Joe Burrow. During his six seasons with the Bengals, Anarumo’s defense never ranked higher than 16th in yards allowed and ranked inside the top 15 only once in points allowed per game. Now, he’ll be tasked with taking over a Colts defense that’s ranked among the league’s worst for three straight seasons. It’s easy to argue that Anarumo was never given enough talent in Cincinnati to make him successful, but it’s also fair to wonder if the Colts will give him the players he needs to help them turn a corner.

Anarumo served as the defensive coordinator for the Bengals for the previous six seasons. After being widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the game, Anarumo’s Bengals struggled mightily in 2024 while allowing 25.5 points and 348.3 yards of total offense per game. Both values ranked 25th in the league during the regular season.

Earlier this week, the Bengals fired Anarumo after six seasons with the team. Anarumo’s defense ranked sixth in points allowed in 2022 but regressed in each of the last two seasons before being ousted after a disastrous 2024. Still viewed by many teams as a top defensive coordinator in the league, Anarumo is expected to land with another team for the 2025 season.

Life comes at you fast in the NFL. Two years ago, Anarumo was viewed as one of the top head coaching candidates on the market for his work in Cincinnati. Now, after an abysmal season where Anarumo’s defense ranked 25th in points and yards allowed per game, and ranked outside the top 20 in pass defense, the 58-year-old coach is now on the open market. Anarumo’s defense allowed 34 or more points in five games this season, and looked like the obvious problem for the 9-8 Bengals while Joe Burrow and the offense put up MVP caliber numbers. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports “there are several” head coaching candidates who would like to add Anarumo as their defensive coordinator, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he landed elsewhere before the start of the season. In addition to Anarumo, the Bengals also fired offensive line coach Frank Pollack, linebackers coach James Bettcher, and defensive line coach Marion Hobby.

For those keeping score at home, that would suggest Giants OC Mike Kafka is no longer in the running for the Cardinals’ head coaching vacancy. Weinfuss added in his report that the team could make a decision on its coach as early as Monday night, bringing an end to one of the longer searches of the offseason. The Cardinals have already met twice with Anarumo and are scheduled to meet with Gannon on Monday. The Cardinals struggled offensively last season even when Kyler Murray was healthy, but their defense left a lot to be desired, ranked 31st in points allowed per game (26.4) and 21st in yards allowed per game.