The Writing Is On The Wall For Bengals’ DC Anarumo
Back in 2019 when Zac Taylor made the big jump from Rams’ QB coach to Bengals’ Head Coach, you might remember that Cincinnati had to wait all the way until after the Super Bowl to make his hiring official. This isn’t the normal process, but of course, Taylor’s Rams did make it to the Super Bowl.
Why is this relevant?
Because when a newly hired head coach has to fill out his entirely new staff so late in the offseason, he isn’t exactly picking from a list of household names. It didn’t help that Taylor was a 36 year old quarterbacks coach severely lacking connections in the NFL. And each and every day that passes, it becomes more clear that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is a byproduct of all of these circumstances.
Today, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Bengals will not be using the franchise tag on either one of Carl Lawson or William Jackson III. For a team with more than enough holes to fill, letting two of your star players on the defensive side of the ball hit the free agent market seems like a bold strategy. Or this paints a drastically darker picture; the players HATE Lou Anarumo. While the players that fall in this category all happen to be players from the Marvin Lewis era, this wouldn’t be the first time this thought came to light.
Former long-time Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap was one of the first guys to publicly display his anger. Geno Atkins, William Jackson III and Carl Lawson are all thought to be in the same boat as Dunlap was: underappreciated, misused and frustrated. At one point, reports floated that Anarumo was “unapproachable.” From an outsider’s perspective, or perhaps any defensive free agent, this has to be a red flag.
It feels inevitable that Anarumo’s time in Cincinnati is coming to an end. The so-called vision he’s painting only has so much time to show results. With Jackson III and Lawson seeming like a long shot to return to the team in 2021, Lou has one option: produce.
