There is a throughline between Lou Anarumo's seasons as a defensive coordinator: Underperformance. He is now in his ninth season as a DC, and in only one season (2022 with the Cincinnati Bengals) has his unit ranked in the top half of the league in either yards or points allowed. The 2026 Indianapolis Colts' defense appears bad, too.
Another throughline exists in those nine seasons: Anarumo. He might be a fantastic human being, and this is certainly no attack on his character. That would be wrong and unfair. As a defensive coordinator, though? Statistically, he hasn't been successful.
If Anarumo was truly an elite coordinator, some of his defenses should have been good. They haven't. Maybe he can change his game plan from week to week and keep offenses guessing, or maybe he has no one base defense that actually works.
Lou Anarumo continues to underwhelm as the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator
In Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, in a make-or-break season for many involved in the organization, and with cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, and edge rusher Laiatu Latu healthy for the game, the defense was awful. Anarumo had no answer.
He couldn't even answer how to stop one player for the Ravens. Slot receiver Zay Flowers had 150 receiving yards in the first half alone. He didn't have more because he entered the game with a hamstring injury, and he was rested after the half because his team didn't need him. The final score was 41-23 and somehow didn't feel that close.
Baltimore had 23 first downs, averaged 7.9 yards per play, 506 total yards, 202 yards of which were rushing. If not for the Ravens hurting themselves with penalties (they had 10 total) and having to play without Flowers, the statistics could have been far worse.
In his eight seasons as a defensive coordinator before 2026, Anarumo has had his defenses rank 21st or worse in points allowed five times and 25th or worse in yards allowed five times. One other time, they ranked 23rd. And yet, Anarumo still gets a lot of respect for his prowess. Make it make sense.
His defense in Week 1 was not prepared for the game. Quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn't solely the problem. Neither was running back Derrick Henry. The Indianapolis Colts struggled to do anything well defensively. Is that the players' fault or the defensive coordinator's?
After all, one would then need to blame the players Lou Anarumo has had for seven of his previous eight seasons as a defensive coordinator for the lack of success. Ultimately, the consistent part is Anarumo being the DC. That might need to change for the Colts soon.
Add us as a preferred source on Google