Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a finalist for the head coach position with the Arizona Cardinals but lost out in the final moments to Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
The news came as a rather big surprise given what Anarumo has accomplished over the last few seasons in Cincinnati, overseeing a defensive rebuild that has held up very well against the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
But as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. explained, a key relationship made the difference: “Jonathan Gannon was quietly a front-runner for the job from the minute Monti Ossenfort landed the GM spot. The two got to know each other over the last year, and Ossenfort sees Gannon as having the ‘it’ factor necessary in a head coach.”
In other words, while Anarumo got multiple interviews and impressed, familiarity with Gannon from key figures in the Cardinals front office nudged the decision a certain way.
While it’s incredibly unfortunate for Anarumo given his resume, the Bengals as a whole can’t complain too much. His returning is nothing but good news as the defense gets ready to likely lose a handful of key players in free agency. It also means with key offensive Bengals coaches returning that the team will get another year of that rare continuity most teams don’t enjoy.
