Former Indianapolis Colts head coach and Super Bowl winner, Tony Dungy shared his thoughts on the teams decision to hire Lou Anarumo as the new defensive coordinator.
In short, Dungy is a big fan of this hire.
“I think the Colts got an excellent Defensive Coordinator in Lou Anarumo,” said Dungy on X. “We did many Cincinnati Bengals games over the last 3 years and his defenses were always well prepared and his players loved playing for him. I’m excited to see what Coach Lou brings to the Colts!”
A hallmark of Anarumo’s defensive scheme is its flexibility. This element works in two respects: one, he’s able to mold his defensive scheme to the skill-sets he has on the roster rather than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
In addition to that, the flexibility allows him to adjust his game-plan on a weekly basis and really tailor it to who the opponent is and taking away what they do well.
This is also a scheme were versatility is important as that plays a key role in the defense’s ability to disguise coverages and what they are 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.
That component, along with Anarumo’s background as a defensive backs coach, often resulted in his Bengals’ secondary’s being among the more productive units out there, whether that be in takeaways, completion percentage or pass deflections.
Anarumo said on Thursday during his introductory press conference that the standard he sets for himself and the players all starts with day-to-day consistency and truth-telling.
Last season, the Colts again ranked in the bottom-third of the NFL in scoring on defense, often plagued by missed tackles, big plays, and the inability to get those crucial stops.
