Colts veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo should be no stranger to upcoming open head coaching interviews.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Indianapolis Colts veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is among the initial top interview candidates for the New York Giants current head coaching vacancy:
“The first assignment is to find a new head coach. The Giants fired Brian Daboll almost eight weeks ago and named Mike Kafka the interim head coach,” writes Ranaan.
“The team had a head start on compiling a list of candidates that includes former NFL head coach Mike McCarthy, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, former Raiders coach and Giants player Antonio Pierce and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, among others. Kafka will also be given an interview.”
Whoever is ultimately hired in New York will replace Brian Daboll, who coached the Giants from 2022-25.
It’s not the first time that Anarumo has been linked to an NFL head coaching opening, as he’s previously been connected in-season as a top candidate for the Tennessee Titans vacancy through multiple league reports respectively.
Nicknamed the “Mad Scientist,” the 59-year-old veteran defensive coordinator has been lauded for his ability to tailor his defensive gameplans weekly to stopping the opposing competition, even giving the likes of Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes some trouble in the past among other elite quarterbacks.
In his debut campaign with the Colts, there’s no question that Anarumo has been a significant upgrade to his Colts veteran defensive coordinator predecessor Gus Bradley.
When healthy and going right, the Colts had a formidable unit this season.
That being said, after losing arguably the defense’s three best players down the season’s late stretch due to key injuries, namely to DeForest Buckner, Sauce Gardner, and Charvarius Ward, the Colts defense has since fallen on some hard times to close out this season. It no longer recently resembles the Top 10 defensive unit that it was for the majority of the 2025 campaign because of the loss of its best players.
It’s hard to win on defense in the NFL without your horses. Much less, there’s personnel issues with the Colts lack of consistent outside pass rush that go beyond Anarumo and key injuries down the final stretch.
Anarumo has paid his coaching dues, has a track record of success, and is deserving of strong consideration for any NFL head coaching opening this upcoming offseason. However, it would be a real shame if he only gets to coach the Colts defense for one season. To me, he’s a top candidate to return in Indianapolis as defensive coordinator even in the rare case that Colts head coach Shane Steichen surprisingly doesn’t.
Given that we really didn’t see this unit fully together healthy upon Gardner’s arrival, Anarumo’s coaching best is still theoretically yet to come in Indianapolis—if we even get to see it again.
Category: General Sports
