After three years of disappointing results, the Indianapolis Colts finally moved on from defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and have chosen Lou Anarumo to take over. The Colts considered five different candidates over two weeks before landing on the former Cincinnati DC. Bradley has been on the hot seat for a while, and fans are hoping Anarumo can spark a defensive turnaround.
Despite the coaching change, there’s no guarantee that the Indianapolis defense will suddenly improve. Anarumo’s track record is spotty, and filled with both successes and failures. Let’s break down the reasons to be confident in Anarumo’s hiring, as well as a couple of causes for concern.
Why Anarumo is the right choice?
1. Veteran leadership with championship pedigree
Unlike head coach Shane Steichen and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, Anarumo is not a first-time hire. He was the DC of the Cincinnati Bengals for the last six seasons (2019-2024), so he has plenty of experience running an NFL defense. Anarumo was not only a long-tenured DC, but also a pretty successful one.
Anarumo helped Cincinnati make two deep playoff runs, first slowing down Patrick Mahomes to advance to Super Bowl LVI before leading a top-5 scoring defense en route to the following season’s AFC Championship game. A mediocre team like Indianapolis could really use a leader on the sidelines with Anarumo’s resume.
2. Flexibility
Skeptics of Gus Bradley criticized the coach’s inability to adapt. Week after week, Bradley stuck to the same scheme: a base 4-3 defense, a whole lot of soft Cover 3 zone coverage, and not a lot of blitzes. Even when opponents repeatedly shredded Bradley’s defense, he rarely made adjustments. If fans were wishing for a more flexible DC, Anarumo is the right man for the job.
Once nicknamed ‘The Mad Scientist’, Anarumo’s defensive philosophy can be best described as experimental. Rather than stay loyal to one particular scheme, he prefers to modify his tactics each week based on the matchup and his own players’ strengths. In Indianapolis, the Anarumo-led defense is expected to use mixed coverages, blitz more often, and routinely throw in disguised looks to confuse opposing offenses. In other words, while Bradley was a predictable playcaller, Anarumo will be anything but that.
3. Anarumo’s strengths = Colts’ weaknesses
In 2024, the Indianapolis defense had a lot of issues, but there were a few major pain points: defending the run, getting red zone stops, and relying on a vulnerable secondary. Fortunately, Anarumo seems uniquely equipped to fix those exact weaknesses.
Before he was hired to be Cincinnati’s DC, Anarumo had a long history coaching defensive backs, both at the NFL and college levels. And in Cincinnati, the best versions of his defense were known for their success against the ground game and in the red zone. There’s no way to know for certain, but Anarumo’s past bodes well for the Colts.
Why Anarumo may fall short?
1. His time in Cincinnati ended on a sour note
Let’s get to the elephant in the room: although the decision was somewhat controversial, Anarumo was fired by the Bengals for a reason. Last year, the Cincinnati defense ranked 25th league-wide in both points and yards allowed. Despite an elite offense led by an MVP-caliber QB in Joe Burrow and the receiving triple-crown winner in Ja’Marr Chase, the defense couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain, giving up 30+ points six times. The Bengals’ defensive collapse ultimately ended the team’s playoff hopes and Anarumo’s Cincinnati career.
What’s concerning is that Anarumo’s 2024 defensive struggles were not an anomaly. The Bengals ranked 20th or worse in scoring defense in four out of six years under Anarumo. His unit started off slow in his first two seasons on the job, then had an impressive (but brief) run spanning 2021 and 2022 before regressing drastically in back-to-back years. Statistically, Anarumo’s Cincinnati defense was bad more often than good. Can he reverse that trend in Indianapolis?
2. Personnel problems could be his kryptonite
Many Anarumo supporters have argued that the DC doesn’t deserve to carry the blame for Cincinnati’s underwhelming defense because the Bengals’ front office didn’t arm him with enough talent. While that may be true, it doesn’t fully exonerate Anarumo.
The Bengals are an organization that values their coaches’ input, so Anarumo likely had some influence on which prospects the team drafted and which free agents were signed. That means Anarumo is partially accountable for the subpar players on his defense.
Over the last couple of years, Anarumo has also had to rely on younger players (sound familiar?) while watching proven veterans walk out the door. Although it wasn’t an ideal situation, a DC’s job is to get the best out of his players, and Anarumo didn’t do that. For a team like Indianapolis, which also has a poor history of personnel decisions and a flawed roster, Anarumo’s recent shortcomings as a talent evaluator and developer could be an issue.