John Harbaugh was the 18-year head coach of the Baltimore Ravens until he wasn't. The team fired the coach after the Ravens didn't make the playoffs. Baltimore felt a change was needed. Ironically, while the Ravens often made the postseason, the Indianapolis Colts haven't, but twice in the nine years of general manager Chris Ballard's reign.
Yet, Ballard wasn't removed from his duties after Indy missed the playoffs yet again. This meant head coach Shane Steichen was going to be safe, too. After all, what right did Ballard have to fire Steichen if he himself was not terminated?
Steichen sticking around meant most of his coaching staff was going to remain the same as well. That was, unless one of the coaches got an offer for a promotion elsewhere. The one with the best chance of that occurring was defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Giants hiring John Harbaugh likely means the Indianapolis Colts won't lose Lou Anarumo
Anarumo had ties to the New York Giants in multiple ways. He had worked with Giants GM Joe Schoen when both were employed by the Miami Dolphins, and Anarumo was asked to interview for New York's head coach vacancy after the team had fired Brian Daboll. But Anarumo won't be going to the Giants, after all.
Instead, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, New York will be hiring John Harbaugh to be its new head coach. If Anarumo wants to be a head coach this offseason, his hopes now likely lie only with the Tennessee Titans. That seems unlikely, too.
In other words, Lou Anarumo will almost certainly stay as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts and not leave after one season in Indy. That will make a lot of fans happy, though some others may not be.
To be fair to the many, how good a job Anarumo did with the defense in 2025 is difficult to ascertain. The group suffered a number of injuries, especially at the cornerback position. Had the DC had a healthy group, could they have been great?
But to be fair to the few, Lou Anarumo has never consistently produced elite defenses. He has been a defensive coordinator for eight total seasons in the NFL (one with Miami, six with the Cincinnati Bengals, and one with the Colts), and only one of his units has ranked higher than 17th in points allowed (2022 in Cincy). He's never had a group rank higher than 16th in yards allowed.
In 2025, his banged-up Indianapolis defense was 23rd in yards allowed and 21st in points allowed. The team's pass rush was inconsistent and thin. The secondary somehow stayed solid even with all the injuries, but the inside linebacker play was terrible.
The hopes among Indianapolis Colts fans are that the team stays healthier in 2026 and Lou Anarumo's defense shines. That remains to be seen, of course, but what is clear is that Anarumo won't be the head coach for the New York Giants. John Harbaugh will be.