Who Are Some of the Top Options To Replace Lou Anarumo As Bengals Defensive Coordinator?

Jay Morrison | Jan 6, 2025

Oct 27, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen on the sidelines in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals are looking for a new defensive coordinator after firing Lou Anarumo this morning.

Anarumo was one of the two longest tenured defensive coordinators in the league, having arrived with head coach Zac Taylor in 2019.

But while Steve Spagnuolo has won three Super Bowls since joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Anarumo’s rapid rise – which saw him ascend to be viewed as one of the best in the league and worthy of head coaching interviews – has plummeted after finishing 31st in total defense in 2023 and 25th this season.

The Bengals have invested heavy draft capital on the defensive side of the ball, and the lack of development from many of those young picks was as much at the root of the decision to let Anarumo go as the inability to scheme up plans to limit opposing offenses to even marginal success to complement two of the greatest offensive performances in franchise history from Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.

So where do the Bengals turn next?

Unlike 2019 when Taylor hired Anarumo to be a coordinator for the first time, this search no doubt will focus on someone with proven success.

Dennis Allen

Fired as Saints head coach in November, the 52-year-old Allen was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2015-21 and ranked in the top 10 in total defense in 2020 and 2021. And they ranked five in his first season as head coach in 2022 after replacing Sean Payton.

Allen went 18-25 as the head coach after posting an 8-28 mark in three seasons as the Raiders head coach from 2012-14.

He is an experienced defensive coordinator with a strong track record, and that appears to be his best fit after two failed runs as a head coach.

Taylor has firsthand experience with Allen's defense after playing against him in the NFC West during Taylor's two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

And Allen is responsible for the development of Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who arrived in New Orleans in 2017, Allen’s third season as defensive coordinator.

Robert Saleh

Saleh’s San Francisco defenses ranked second and fifth in the league in 2019 and 2020, respectively, making him one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the 2021 cycle.

Hired by the New York Jets, Saleh’s defenses ranked fourth and third in his second and third seasons before he was fired after Week 5 this season.

Unlike Allen, Saleh still has a future as a head coach in the league and may want to wait out this hiring cycle to see if he gets any interviews.

If those opportunities dry up, Salah, who is only 45, could run it back and join an offensive-minded head coach in Taylor the way he did with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and try to make some deep playoff runs that would vault him to the top of a lot of teams wish lists for a head coach in short order.

Saleh currently is an offensive consultant for the Green Bay Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur, one of Taylor’s best friends.

Matt Eberflus

In the same category as Allen, Eberflus has a respected reputation as a defensive coordinator and an unfortunate record (14-32) as a head coach after getting fired by the Chicago Bears in November in the middle of his third season.

In four seasons with the Colts, Eberflus’ defenses ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense three times and was in the top 11 in total defense twice.

Al Golden

The former Bengals linebacker coach is still working as the Notre Dame defensive coordinator, leading one of the country’s best units into the College Football Playoff semifinals.

In addition to his two seasons as linebackers coach in Cincinnati, the 55-year-old Golden has been a Division I head coach at the University of Miami (five seasons) and Temple (five seasons).

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