The Cincinnati Bengals needed a scapegoat. They found one in Lou Anarumo.
As the Bengals' franchise struggled to put together a solid explanation for having missed the postseason in 2024, the organizatio's powers-that-be decided that they were willing to move on from longtime defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. When failure sets in, something has to change and this year, that something was Anarumo's employment.
For those on the outside, however, the move makes little sense. Anarumo, as it turns out, has become a well-respected leader and defensive mind. Just ask Travis Kelce, who is a believer that the Bengals might have made a wrong decision in their postseason evaluations.
As the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end, Kelce knows a thing or two about Anarumo, who served as the Bengals' DC for the last six seasons. That's because Kelce and the Chiefs have played against Anarumo's units six times in those six seasons and most of those were primetime games in significant situations—two in the postseason.
On the latest episode of New Heights, Kelce's podcast with his brother, Jason, he talked about the Bengals' season and missing them in the postseason. Specifically, both Jason and Travis begin to talk about the shock of seeing Anarumo let go.
"I don't know what the f--k is going on over there," said Travis. "That was a wild, wild move I did not see coming, because I thought that, from the outside, their defense was playing really f--king good toward the end of the year."
"They definitely played better," said Jason in response. "I don't think they had the horses on defense that they've had in the past and Lou got handcuffed. I don't know that it made sense. He's proven how good of a defensive coordinator he is with good players.
"I'm with you, dude. I'm with ya. I've always respected the hell out of him," added Travis.
In four regular season appearances against Anarumo, Kelce only had 13 total catches for 112 yards and 1 touchdown—an average of 3 catches for 28 yards per game. That said, the postseason featured a much different response from Kelce—17 catches for 173 yard and 2 touchdowns in 2 games.
Given that Kelce enjoyed tremendous success against Anarumo in some games and found himself quite limited in others, it's clear he has a first-hand view at the challenge provided by the Bengals' coordinator. Whether deserved or not, however, the Bengals have already decided to make the change.