Lou Anarumo is in his 13th season as an NFL coach, and sixth with Cincinnati, after joining the Bengals in 2019 as defensive coordinator.
In 2023, Anarumo's defense featured a veteran core up front along with a youth movement in the secondary. Several Bengals defenders enjoyed their top statistical season, led by Pro Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson, whose career-high 17.5 sacks tied for second in the NFL and ranked second in team single-season history. LB Logan Wilson paced the team in tackles for a third straight year, notching a career-best 135, while his four INTs tied second-year CB Cam Taylor-Britt for the team lead. Taylor-Britt highlighted Cincinnati's crop of young defensive backs which also included second-year S Dax Hill, rookie S Jordan Battle and rookie CB DJ Turner II. The quartet combined to start 48 games.
In 2022, Anarumo led a balanced defense that held opposing passers to a league-low 58.9 completion percentage, ranked sixth in points allowed per game (20.1) and seventh in rushing yards (106.6). Wilson (123 tackles) and Germaine Pratt (career-high 99) formed one of the top NFL's top LB duos, and Hendrickson posted a team-leading eight sacks to earn his second straight Pro Bowl nod. The Bengals opened the season by going seven straight games without giving up a TD after halftime, becoming the second NFL team since 1930 to do so.
Anarumo in 2021 oversaw the NFL's fifth-ranked rushing defense (102.5 yards allowed per game). He worked closely with Hendrickson, who in his first Bengals season tallied 14 sacks (fifth in NFL) and was selected to his first career Pro Bowl. During Cincinnati's postseason run to Super Bowl LVI, the defense led all playoff teams in INTs (eight), total tackles (155) and passes defensed (23), while allowing an average of 20.5 points over four games.
The Bengals' defense in 2020 featured seven new starters, and Anarumo helped steer the group through an offseason with no on-field work due to COVID-19. Cincinnati held opposing passers to a 62.8 completion percentage, sixth lowest in the NFL.
In 2019, Anarumo's first year in Cincinnati, the defense allowed 84.1 fewer yards per game in the second half of the season vs. the first eight games, while also recording 11 more sacks. The Bengals ranked fifth in the NFL in red zone defense, allowing TDs on just 49 percent of opponents' red zone trips.
Anarumo spent the 2018 season as DBs coach with the N.Y. Giants, where he helped the defense rank seventh in the NFL in INTs (16) and 10th in opponent passer rating (89.8). Prior to his time in New York, he coached DBs for the Miami Dolphins from 2012-17.
Anarumo entered 2015 as Miami's secondary coach, but served as interim defensive coordinator for the final 12 games after coaching staff changes were made in October. In 2014, the Dolphins allowed 222.3 passing yards per game, sixth fewest in the NFL. From 2012-13, Miami gave up just 35 TD passes, the second fewest leaguewide over that span.
Prior to Miami, Anarumo spent 23 seasons in the college coaching ranks. He served as DBs coach at Purdue University from 2004-11, after three years ('01-03) in the same role at Marshall University. The Thundering Herd ranked 10th nationally in passing defense in 2003 (177.4 yards allowed per game), and that season he also served as special teams coordinator.
Anarumo was assistant head coach at Harvard University from 1995-2000, working with the DBs and coordinating the special teams. From 1992-94, he was defensive coordinator and DBs coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
From 1990-91, Anarumo was a graduate assistant at Syracuse University. From January to June 1990, he was a part-time running backs coach at Wagner College. He served in that same role at the United States Merchant Marine Academy from September 1989 to January '90.
Born Aug. 18, 1966, Anarumo is a native of Staten Island, N.Y., and earned his bachelor's degree in special education from Wagner in 1990. He and his wife, Fran, have three children — Madison, Louis and Christopher. His last name is pronounced "ann-ah-ROO-mo."
Coaching history: 1989-90—Assistant coach (AC), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 1990—AC, Wagner. 1990-91—Graduate assistant coach, Syracuse. 1992-94—AC, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 1995-2000—AC, Harvard. 2001-03—AC, Marshall. 2004-11—AC, Purdue. 2012-17—AC, Miami Dolphins (interim defensive coordinator for final 12 games of '15). 2018—AC, N.Y. Giants. 2019-present—Defensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals.
