Lou Anarumo
Lou Anarumo is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He previously served as the defensive backs coach at Purdue under Joe Tiller and Danny Hope from 2004 to 2011, the Miami Dolphins from 2012 to 2017, and the New York Giants in 2018. He was the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals from 2019 to 2024.
Early life
Anarumo was born on Staten Island, New York in 1966. He attended Wagner College where he earned his degree in special education. While at Wagner, he served as the junior varsity head coach at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island.Coaching career
Early career
Anarumo served as the part-time running backs coach at Wagner in the spring of 1990 before he moved to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy during the fall of 1990 to serve in the same capacity. From there, Anarumo went to Syracuse University where he served as a graduate assistant under Phil Elmassian working with the defensive backs. Anarumo then returned to the Merchant Marines as the defensive coordinator before being hired at Harvard to serve as the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach. It is at Harvard that Anarumo met former boss Joe Philbin, who at the time served as Harvard's offensive line coach. Anarumo made a stop at Marshall before being hired to replace Elmassian at 2004 [Purdue Boilermakers football team|Purdue].Miami Dolphins
In 2012, Anarumo was hired by the Miami Dolphins as their defensive backs coach. On October 8, 2015, he was chosen to be the interim defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins to replace Kevin Coyle who was fired the same day. Due to the changes in coaching staff following the 2015–16 season, he was once again made the defensive backs coach under Adam Gase, the new head coach for the 2016–17 season.New York Giants
On January 25, 2018, Anarumo was named as defensive backs coach for the New York Giants.Cincinnati Bengals
On February 21, 2019, Anarumo was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as their defensive coordinator under head coach Zac Taylor. He assumed Steve Jackson's cornerbacks coaching duties for the team's Week 11 and Week 12 games in 2020 against the 2020 [Washington Football Team|Washington Football Team] and New York Giants due to Jackson missing the games for COVID-19 pandemic protocols.In the Kansas City Chiefs 24 |2021–22 AFC Championship Game], Anarumo's defense held the 2021 [Kansas City Chiefs|Kansas City Chiefs] to just a field goal in the second half and forced an interception in overtime, contributing to a 27–24 OT victory to advance to Super Bowl LVI. In Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals lost 23–20 to the 2021 [Los Angeles Rams|Los Angeles Rams].
During the 2023 offseason, Anarumo was a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job that ultimately went to Jonathan Gannon.
Anarumo was let go by the Bengals at the end of the 2024 season.