Soon, all of the talk surrounding the Tennessee Titans will shift from their weekly matchups to the continuing search for their next head coach. General manager Mike Borgonzi will have to balance what is best for Cam Ward’s development with the team’s long-term success. 

Recently, Dianna Russini of The Athletic outlined a list of potential targets for the job, which surprisingly leaned toward defense. 

With the Titans’ season winding down, Titans Wire is going to dive into some of those potential candidates to see what would make them an attractive hire in Nashville. The next one we will dive into is Lou Anarumo. 

Anarumo is an interesting candidate who has re-entered head coach conversations after an outstanding first season as the Colts’ defensive coordinator. 

Anarumo has a tremendous coaching resume and has been in the profession since starting as a part-time running backs coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1989. From there, he remained in college football as a secondary coach or defensive coordinator for the next 21 seasons at multiple schools, including Harvard, Syracuse, and Purdue. 

In 2012, he joined the Miami Dolphins as a defensive backs coach, then worked his way up to interim defensive coordinator in 2015 before returning to the secondary. During his time in Miami, the Dolphins’ secondary consistently landed at the top of the league. 

After six seasons in Miami, he joined the New York Giants in 2018. He parlayed a successful season in the Big Apple into a defensive coordinator job with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019. With the Bengals, Anarumo became a hot commodity in coaching circles and appeared destined to be hired in a coaching cycle. 

Unfortunately, while his units flashed and even helped lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance, the unit’s depth was consistently challenged, and their overall play was uneven. Anarumo left Cincinnati after six seasons with the Bengals and took over as the Colts’ defensive coordinator. 

With the Colts, Anarumo has transformed the defense and is again commonly mentioned in connection with some of the openings. In his only season in Indianapolis, he has transformed a depleted unit from the bottom of the league in both yards and points in 2024 to the middle in 2025, and even as the offense struggles with injuries, his defense is keeping them competitive. 

Potential fit

Anarumo will have to answer the same question that other defensive-minded candidates face: What is the plan for Cam Ward and the offense? 

At age 60, he is energetic and experienced, and could appeal to Borgonzi as he seeks to transform the organization’s culture. Armed with over 30 years of experience in college and the pros, he has seen a lot and is a creative defensive mind who also understands what a team needs when they have an elite quarterback in place. 

Tennessee has some defensive talent that could thrive in his system, and his years of experience as a secondary coach would be an asset and make him an attractive candidate in Nashville.Â