Who is Lou?
Let’s be honest. When the Cincinnati Bengals hired Lou Anarumo as their defensive coordinator, we had no idea who he was.
Now, we know exactly who he is and so does everyone else in the NFL. I don’t know if Anarumo is on the hot seat or not, but I can tell you one thing: He will be a defensive coordinator in the NFL next season.
Lou Needs Dudes
Anarumo took a lot of heat in his first couple of seasons with the club. The defense was bad, but you could see where he was trying to go with things. He ran some very creative packages; he just didn’t have the dudes to execute them, particularly in the secondary.
Then two years later Jessie Bates was joined by Vonn Bell, Mike Hilton, Chidobe Awuzie, and Eli Apple. Up front, they drafted some quality linebackers and added Trey Hendrickson, DJ Reader, BJ Hill, and Larry Ogunjobi to their defensive line.
All of the sudden. Anarumo was a great defensive coordinator. They went to the Super Bowl, beat the Chiefs three times in a calendar year, and Anarumo interviewed for head-coaching jobs.
Now, an attempt to get younger, faster, and yes, cheaper in the secondary has blown up in their face. Ogunjobi and Reader left a few years apart, but neither was sufficiently replaced. And mainstays like Bell and Sam Hubbard are old and beaten.
Now, ya’ll don’t like Lou again.
Lou Needs Film
This is part of why the Bengals have been slow starters, and it’s why they struggle against backup quarterbacks (remember the Mike White Jets?).
Anarumo needs a good amount of film on an opponent to be successful, but when he has it…
Lou’s Game Plans are Fire
Even last week, despite not having the dudes, they put together a game plan that limited a Ravens offense that is one of the league’s most prolific units for a half.
Which ties in nicely with the next thing we all know about Lou.
Lou’s Defense’s Step Up in Big Games
The Chiefs. The Bills. The Ravens.
Anarumo knows how to get his defenses up for big games.
It’s about winning the big one, isn’t it? That’s what we are trying to do here. Anarumo can get his unit ready for big matchups on a big stage.
What Does it Mean?
He’s the right guy for the job, but you’ve got to get him the guys he needs.
If we were going to have a serious conversation about replacing Anarumo the most obvious name that would come up is Robert Saleh, but have you ever seen him coach a defense with so few pass rushers? Of course not. He wouldn’t do any better than Anarumo.
They need to spend money and get Anarumo his guys.
Now, spending high draft capital on defensive backs and defensive linemen is a smart strategy, but it hasn’t panned out yet.
Some of that is, of course, scouting, but the defensive staff deserves just as much blame for failing to develop players. Of course, that is the whole point of free agency. When you make mistakes in the draft, you can fix them by opening your wallet.
In the meantime, the defense has shown improvement, but consistency is a major issue. They don’t need to be a top unit, but they need to step up in the red zone and make plays in key moments. Just think about how different this conversation would be if Cam Taylor-Britt had hauled in that interception.
Anarumo is the right guy. They just have to give him the right pieces.