The Indianapolis Colts’ defense under new coordinator Lou Anarumo is going to look a bit different than it did under Gus Bradley.
You don’t get the nickname the ‘Mad Scientist’ as Anarumo did by accident. A nickname like that goes beyond a defense’s final numbers in a given game or over the course of the season. Instead, that nickname is earned by how the defense manufactures that production.
A key element of Anarumo’s defense is versatility. This allows defenders to fill a variety of roles within the scheme and gives Anarumo to disguise what the defense is doing. Opposing offenses won’t necessarily know the role of a specific player just because of where they are aligned or who is on the field.
In a conference that features Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, and others at quarterback, keeping opposing offenses guessing to at least some degree is a must. Otherwise, these quarterbacks will easily pick apart a static defense.
“You have to be flexible and multiple, when you are playing the quarterbacks, especially on our side in the AFC, it lends to not just, ‘You’re going to be in this coverage and you’re going to stay in that and it’s going to be a long day,’” Anarumo said via 107.5 The Fan.
“And then going through the playoffs and the Super Bowl, you have to keep those great quarterbacks off balance, I think you have to make them uncomfortable. Even the best ones, you are not going to fool them all day, but it it’s in the most critical situation, that’s what you are hoping to do. We’ve had some success doing that.”
Helping Anarumo achieve that chaos-causing element on defense is his expansive playbook that has been built and sculpted by each stop he’s made in his coaching career.
Taking a few concepts from each stop has resulted in a scheme that can quickly adapt on the fly and one that adjusts week-to-week based on what the opponents do well.
In some respects, Anarumo’s defense is an amoeba, molding to who the opponent is.
“You are going to identify what the team does well, identify who the problem players are, where is the great receiver and what do we have to do to slow them down,” Anarumo says of his weekly approach. “Whoever or whatever the issues are we have to put them in front of the guys and say, ‘If we can take these guys away or minimize their damage in the game, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win.’”
Anarumo will be taking over a Colts’ defense that has finished in the bottom in scoring the last three seasons. In 2024 specifically, this group was plagued by big plays, missed tackles, and not coming with stops in crucial moments.
The standard that he sets for both himself and his players centers around consistency and truth-telling. Whether it be good or bad, the truth is what’s need to avoid complacency and can be the catalyst for progress.
“One of the things we will hang our hat on, we are always going to try and be a smart, fast, physical team,” Anarumo said. “You don’t want to beat yourself in this league. You want to make sure that guys know where their help is going to be every down. No unforced errors, where you can eliminate and win games by just allowing the team to make their mistakes, and we are going to stay steadfast.”