New Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo picked up a nickname during his time as the defensive play-caller of the Cincinnati Bengals.
His players and those within the organization would affectionately refer to Anarumo as ‘The Mad Scientist.’
So how does one go about getting a nickname like that?
Well, for Anarumo, it’s a product of the malleability of his defensive game plan.
Like any play-caller, whether that be on the offensive or defensive sides of the ball, Anarumo has core principles that his scheme is built around. However, what can make it unique, and him scientist-like, is that from each of the many stops Anarumo has had during his coaching career, he’s picked up concepts along the way and baked them into his own playbook.
“What Lou has done is phenomenal. A little pinch here and a little pinch there. You can get Louie to stir the pot. It’s a mixture and Lou has done a great job blending it all together,” said Kevin Coyle via the Bengals team site.
This versatility within the playbook allows Anarumo to build his defense around the players and skill-sets that he has on the roster. This isn’t a rigid, one-size fits all defensive approach, which can lead to a round peg trying to be fit into a square hole.
Having this element also makes things difficult on opposing offenses as well. Anarumo can really tailor the week-to-week game-plan to the opponent as he attempts to take away what each different team does well.
It also adds more versatility to the defense, allowing defenders to fill different roles depending on the offense’s personnel. These leads to greater adaptability on the fly and allows the defense to better disguise what they’re doing as well.
“There are multiple personnel groupings to match the offensive groupings you have to defend, but a lot of carry-over within the packages,” added Coyle. “They’ve got their core of things, but yet they’re able to adapt to game situations.
“You can’t change your (core) so how do you tweak it with a different guy playing the dime position or a nickel that can play safety or a safety that can get in the box and play the run and corners that can make it look like they’re in man, but they’re playing a zone.”
While on the surface, everything just described can sound like a lot is being put on the plates of the defenders. But to get the results that Anarumo’s defenses have gotten over the years in big games, along with ranking fifth in scoring defense during the Bengals’ Super Bowl run in 2022, it speaks to his ability as a teacher and to make the game-plans digestible.
The Colts defense is coming off a 2024 season where they again finished in the bottom-third of the NFL in scoring. Throughout the year, there were moments and stretches of steady play, but not nearly enough consistency.
To some degree, we will likely see GM Chris Ballard make some new additions on that side of the ball that better fit the vision Anarumo has for this unit. However, turning this defense around will more so require the Mad Scientist to get the most out of the players already on the roster.
