Lou Anarumo (born August 18, 1966) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

under

Joe Tiller Joseph Henry Tiller (December 7, 1942 – September 30, 2017) was an American football offensive lineman and coach. He served as the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders as an interim head coach in 1976, University of Wyoming from 1991 to 1996, ...

and Danny Hope from 2004 to 2011, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

from 2012 to 2017, and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in 2018. He was the defensive coordinator of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

from 2019 to 2024.

Early life

Anarumo was born on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1966. He attended

Wagner College Wagner College is a private university in Staten Island, New York. It was established in 1883 and, as of the 2023–2024 academic year, it enrolled approximately 1,932 students, including 1,592 undergraduates and 340 graduates. Its theatre prog ...

where he earned his degree in

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

. While at Wagner, he served as the

Junior Varsity A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At High school, ...

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 Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

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 Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

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

Miami Dolphins

In 2012, Anarumo was hired by the

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

Cincinnati Bengals

On February 21, 2019, Anarumo was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach

Zac Taylor Zachary William Taylor (born May 10, 1983) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. Beginning his NFL career as an offensive assistant, Taylor was the quarterba ...

. He assumed Steve Jackson's cornerbacks coaching duties for the team's Week 11 and Week 12 games in 2020 against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and

due to Jackson missing the games for

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

protocols. In the 2021–22 AFC Championship Game, Anarumo's defense held the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

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 Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

. In Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals lost 23–20 to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. During the 2023 offseason, Anarumo was a finalist for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

head coaching job that ultimately went to

Jonathan Gannon Jonathan James Gannon (born January 4, 1983) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator ...

. Anarumo was let go by the Bengals at the end of the 2024 season.

Indianapolis Colts

On January 21, 2025, Anarumo was hired as defensive coordinator by the

Personal life

Anarumo is married, and the couple have three children.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anarumo, Lou 1966 births Living people Cincinnati Bengals coaches Harvard Crimson football coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Merchant Marine Mariners football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches NFL defensive coordinators New York Giants coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Sportspeople from Staten Island Susan E. Wagner High School alumni Syracuse Orange football coaches Wagner Seahawks football coaches Coaches of American football from New York (state)