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The Cincinnati Bengals have found their new defensive coordinator.
The team will hire Lou Anarumo away from the Giants, according to Tom Pelissero.
The #Bengals are hiring Lou Anarumo as their defensive coordinator, source said. Longtime respected college and NFL assistant knows new coach Zac Taylor well from their days with the #Dolphins. Now they join forces in Cincy.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 21, 2019
This ends what had turned into a surprisingly long search for the Bengals after being turned down by multiple candidates.
Anarumo has been a coach in the NFL since 2012 and has an extensive background coaching defensive backs, but he has never been a full-time defensive coordinator in the NFL. He did serve as one at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy from 1992–1994.
Anarumo was actually the Dolphins’ interim defensive coordinator in 2015, when Zac Taylor was the quarterbacks coach and later became the interim offensive coordinator. Taylor has favored hiring guys he’s worked with, which is all the more reason why Anarumo made sense for the Bengals.
After a new Dolphins coaching staff was hired in 2016, Anarumo went back to being Miami’s defensive backs coach until 2017, then joined the Giants and has been there ever since.
Anarumo also has college stints as a defensive backs coach at Harvard, Marshall and Purdue.
Welcome to the Queen City!