BENGALS HIRE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ANARUMO
52-year-old was defensive backs coach for Giants.
The Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday hired New York Giants assistant coach Lou Anarumo as defensive coordinator.
Anarumo, 52, was the defensive backs coach for the Giants in 2018. He served the same role for the Miami Dolphins from 2012-17.
“I’ve always had great respect for Lou, and I know he is a tremendous defensive coach,” said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor in a release. “He’s a great fit for what we want to build here in Cincinnati. Lou is an excellent communicator who the players will have great respect for, and he will get the best out of them.”
Anarumo and Taylor coached together in Miami. Anarumo served as the Dolphins’ interim defensive coordinator for the final 12 games of the 2015 season. Taylor was the team’s interim offensive coordinator for the final five games that season when the team fired Bill Lazor, the Bengals’ offensive coordinator the past two seasons.
Before his time with the Dolphins, Anamuro’s previous 20 seasons coaching came in the college ranks. Aside from the 12 games with the Dolphins, his only previous experience as a defensive coordinator came in the early 1990s with the Merchant Marine Academy.
Anamuro is taking over a unit that was one of the worst in the NFL last season. Cincinnati ranked 30th out of 32 teams in scoring defense last season, allowing 28.4 points per game. They were last in the NFL in yards allowed per game (413.6). Former head coach Marvin Lewis fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin in November and assumed control of the defense for the final seven games of the season. Lewis and the Bengals parted ways after 16 seasons a day after the season ended.