INDIANAPOLIS – Lou Anarumo has been in this situation before. Sort of.
After overseeing Purdue’s defensive backs from 2004-11 and adding stints with the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants to his resume, he was entrusted by first-time Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor in 2019 to fix the Bengals’ declining defense.
Fast-forward to this week: Second-year Indianapolis Colts’ coach Shane Steichen determined Anarumo, who was fired by the Bengals earlier this month, was the right man to fix his substandard defense.
The transformation in Cincinnati worked, until personnel losses eventually took their toll. A Bengals defense that was among the NFL’s worst in 2018 – No. 32 in yards allowed, No. 30 in points – developed into an integral component as Cincinnati reached back-to-back AFC Championship games in 2021-22 and Super Bowl LVI after the ’21 season. It was 18th in yards and 17th in scoring in ’21 and tied-5th in scoring in ’22.
The statistical similarities are undeniable.
Anarumo is inheriting a Colts’ defense from Gus Bradley that too often failed deliver. Last season, it was 29th in yards allowed and 24th in scoring. In a critical week 17 road test against the 2-13 New York Giants, the defense yielded 38 points and 389 yards in a 45-33 loss that extinguished the Colts’ playoff hopes. Journeyman quarterback Drew Lock accounted for five TDs, four passing.
Same situation and challenge, different location?
Not so fast, insisted Anarumo.
“It’s different,’’ he said during Thursday morning’s introductory press conference.
The Bengals, he noted, had been built around an older core of players, including 30-year-old end Carlos Dansby and tackle Geno Atkins, 31.
“We were kind of working our way through the roster,’’ Anarumo said. “We were able to get kind of the players we wanted to.’’
Jessie Bates, a 2018 second-round pick, emerged as one of the league’s premier safeties under Anarumo. The Bengals acquired edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and cornerback Mike Hilton in free agency from New Orleans and Pittsburgh, respectively.
Hendrickson has 57 sacks in 63 games in Cincy, including 17.5 in each of the last two seasons. Hilton was a steadying force in the secondary and a frequent playmaker out of the slot with 2 sacks and 36 tackles for loss.
“I see this as a different situation,’’ Anarumo said of taking ownership of Indy’s defense.
The Colts offer a mix of veteran presences and young talent.
Anarumo, 58, has been on a fast track. He’s been at the Colts complex for two days and still is in the meet-and-greet phase with his players. He’s talked with many on the phone and bumped into others in the hallways.
The heavy personnel evaluations are ahead – the Colts’ own free agents, other teams’ free agents, potential targets in the draft – but Anarumo’s initial impressions have been encouraging.
“We’ve had Pro Bowlers at each level at some point in their careers,’’ he said.
Tackle DeForest Buckner is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and an alternate this year. He was first-team All-Pro in 2020 and second-team in ’19 with San Francisco.
Linebacker Zaire Franklin led the NFL in tackles and earned his first Pro Bowl nod in ’24 and is second-team All-Pro. Nickel corner Kenny Moore II was a 2021 Pro Bowler.
“It all starts up front,’’ Anarumo said. “Those guys can affect the game more than anybody, and we’ve got some good players up there.’’
Laiatu Latu, the 15th overall pick in 2024, was named to the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie team. Kwity Paye, the 21st overall pick in 2021, led the Colts with 8 sacks last season after posting a career-high 8.5 in 2023.
“Then as you go through the linebacking core and then the DBs, there are certain guys that can affect the game as well,’’ Anarumo said. “So, we’re going to jump into all that here. This is day 2 . . . we’re hitting the ground running.’’
Anarumo has already had a short meeting with Buckner. The defensive captain/cornerstone has generated 39 sacks, 101 quarterback hits and 50 tackles for loss the past five seasons. He’s twice led the Colts in sacks.
“When you’ve got an athlete inside like Buck . . . his length, the simple thing is just batting balls down at the line of scrimmage,” Anarumo said. “That’s something we really stress, because that’s one more down that the ball is not going down the field.
“We’re thrilled with him. He plays the run as well as he plays the pass. I’m excited to work with him.”
Anarumo said he “really liked” Latu during the 2024 pre-draft evaluation.
“So, you get a guy inside (Buckner), a guy outside (Latu),’’ he said. “There are other guys up there too that can affect it.’’
Anarumo tapped into Hilton’s versatility at corner and often had him blitzing out of the slot. That’s one of Moore’s strengths. He’s had 20 interceptions, 10 sacks and 36 tackles for loss in eight seasons.
“We’ve got a guy that’s very similar (to Hilton), Kenny Moore II,’’ Anarumo said.
Anarumo’s core principles involve being a smart, fast and physical defense, along with not making the type of mistakes that cost games.
“No unforced errors,’’ he said.
As the Colts meandered their way to an 8-9 finish and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season, Buckner criticized areas of the defense. He cited too many egos. Moore questioned the overall commitment of some segments of the team.
“I wasn’t here,’’ Anarumo said, “so I can’t speak to it. But I know this: sometimes a fresh start for a coach or for players is a good thing.
“I know the standard of how we’ll carry ourselves as coaches. We ask these guys to be consistent as players.’’
Accountability and transparency will be constants.
“It’s my job to say, ‘Yes, you’re doing it right,’ or ‘No, you’re doing it wrong.’ That will happen and it will happen to all of them,’’ Anarumo said. “I don’t care the number of years in the league. I don’t care.
“Good players, great players want to be coached. They want to know the truth. That’s always been the case. If they don’t, then there’s probably a little bit of an issue there.
“But the best ones I’ve been around (it’s), ‘Coach me. Coach me hard. Tell me what you want.’ I’ve always found that to be true.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.