THE Indianapolis Colts found their new defensive leader, while they announced the hiring from the old Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for the role Tuesday.
Anarumo replaces Gus Bradley, who was fired at the end of the season after the Indianapolis defense collapsed. Bradley was retained by Frank Reich’s team to become Shane Steichen’s DC, but only lasted two years with Steichen before parting ways.
Anarumo spent the last six seasons as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator after coaching defensive backs with the Giants And Dolphinsand before that in college with Purdue, Marshall and Harvard. His units were extremely strong during the early years of his tenure, and he developed a reputation for tailoring game plans to help limit some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
Its defenses have declined significantly in recent years, however, as the available talent has aged and atrophied. This culminated in the 2024 season, in which the Bengals ranked 25th in yards and points allowed and the defense arguably cost them a chance at the playoffs.
He will now head to Indianapolis, where he will be tasked with working with players like Laiatu Latu, Kwity Pay, Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore, DeForest BucknerGrover Stewart, JuJu Brents and more. It’s not quite the talent he had in his Bengals days, but it’s more than what was on the field for the Bengals last season. And the Colts are obviously hoping that the versatility of the system Anarumo brings will do more for their defense than Bradley’s more static system.