(12-06-2022, 10:12 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Lou Anarumo is the best defensive coordinator the Bengals have had since Di... — I mean Richard — LeBeau.  Lou is better than Mike Zimmer and I never thought I could admit this but it’s true.  He is.  Remember when the Bengals couldn’t cover a tight end?  Those days are over.  

What are you basing this off of? Outside of not able to "cover a tight end"...as if that's what determines the entire success of a defense. 

According to Lou himself, yards don't mean jack and points are how he determines how good his defense played. 

In 6 years with the Bengals Zimmers defense averaged 12th in the league with two top 5 defenses. 

In 4 years with the Bengals Lou's defense has averaged 18th in the league with zero top 10 defenses. 

Both took over garbage defenses and made them better over time but to claim Lou's have been better is just a blatant lie not backed by any metric outside of maybe yards given up to TEs. 

Minnesota went from the worst defense in 2013 to averaging being top 10 Zimmers first 5 years, overall 7.8 with multiple top 5 defenses. It dropped to 11.8 overall after his last two years when they were pretty poor defenses.

I do think Lou has done a good job though and would want him to stay.

It is pretty well known that Mike Brown considered Zim the one that got away. If Lou leaves, I can see MB asking Zac to offer Zim the DC job. He's been a head coach. Backing off to DC close to home for a team who's ownership is like family might just be the ticket for him. That said, I don't think Lou will leave. Owners want Offensive minds these days.

(12-07-2022, 09:56 PM)Sled21 Wrote: It is pretty well known that Mike Brown considered Zim the one that got away. If Lou leaves, I can see MB asking Zac to offer Zim the DC job. He's been a head coach. Backing off to DC close to home for a team who's ownership is like family might just be the ticket for him. That said, I don't think Lou will leave. Owners want Offensive minds these days.

And there's other defensive coordinators who might be attractive as head coaching candidates. This website lists several and doesn't list Lou. Although, of course, if the Bengals do well in the playoffs, there would be renewed attention.

https://sportsnaut.com/nfl-coaching-candidates-2023/

(12-07-2022, 09:12 AM)Synric Wrote: I've heard Brian Callahan's name floated as a HC candidate over Lou too which I think is crazy.

Right or wrong in todays NFL a young OC (38), from a football family, running a top offense will likely always garner more attention than an older DC (56). 

Brian surprisingly has also spent more time in the NFL as a coach as well. Call it nepotism but it is what it is.

(12-06-2022, 10:12 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Offense sells tickets and t-shirts.  Defense wins championships.

Lou Anarumo is the best defensive coordinator the Bengals have had since Di... — I mean Richard — LeBeau.  Lou is better than Mike Zimmer and I never thought I could admit this but it’s true.  He is.  Remember when the Bengals couldn’t cover a tight end?  Those days are over.  

We all know Lou is considered head coach material by a growing number of teams.  I’m still hurt over Mike Zimmer’s exit from the Queen City because the Bengals fell apart over the next few years.  Letting Lou Anarumo go would be an even bigger mistake.  His defenses have risen to the occasion in the playoffs with key interceptions, forced fumbles, and critical stops.  The Bengals would not be AFC champions without Lou’s defense.

Mikey Boy, Katie, and Duke need to pay the man.  I mean PAY.  I would offer Lou everything including the kitchen sink.  The worst nightmare I can imagine is coaching AGAINST him.

he is better than Zimmer for sure when it counted, playoffs.. Zimmer never performed well in the playoffs, Lou has but in the end you can;t stop assistants from moving on, it is the nature of how things go.  Also the Bengals did not fall apart they felt apart really when we had a few bad drafts together especially when the Oline picks did not work out and we would not invest much in free agency

(12-07-2022, 09:46 PM)TheFan Wrote: What are you basing this off of? Outside of not able to "cover a tight end"...as if that's what determines the entire success of a defense. 

According to Lou himself, yards don't mean jack and points are how he determines how good his defense played. 

In 6 years with the Bengals Zimmers defense averaged 12th in the league with two top 5 defenses. 

In 4 years with the Bengals Lou's defense has averaged 18th in the league with zero top 10 defenses. 

Both took over garbage defenses and made them better over time but to claim Lou's have been better is just a blatant lie not backed by any metric outside of maybe yards given up to TEs. 

Minnesota went from the worst defense in 2013 to averaging being top 10 Zimmers first 5 years, overall  7.8 with multiple top 5 defenses. It dropped to 11.8 overall after his last two years when they were pretty poor defenses.

I do think Lou has done a good job though and would want him to stay.

What Lou has done with our defense in a short time is better than Zimmer in my opinion and just like Marvin and Dalton get hammered for zero wins in playoffs, it seems Zimmer never gets mentioned in how bad our defense played against the run in those games... To me Lou passed Zimmer with the great run he made in the playoffs last year especially if that seems to be what we most measure success by is winning in the playoffs..

We got lambasted for hiring Anarumo because apparently he was the 5th or 6th choice. A few Giant fans I know told me that they felt he was a pretty good coach and would make a good coordinator and we may have found a diamond in the rough. They were right.

(12-07-2022, 10:29 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: What Lou has done with our defense in a short time is better than Zimmer in my opinion and just like Marvin and Dalton get hammered for zero wins in playoffs, it seems Zimmer never gets mentioned in how bad our defense played against the run in those games... To me Lou passed Zimmer with the great run he made in the playoffs last year especially if that seems to be what we most measure success by is winning in the playoffs..

The most our offense ever scored in one of those games was 16. The least we scored in last year's run was 19. There wasn't a single game where our QB had more TDs than INT. 

Even with Lous defense we're losing those games. The only time we played well last year against the run was the superbowl. To say we were better is just a lie. They were shit the other games but our offense didn't absolutely pee down their leg like the Marvin Lewis era ones did. That's the difference. 

If you look at what RBs did running last year was worse. 

2022 Playoffs:
Raiders averaged 6.4ypc.
Tennessee averaged 5.3 ypc
Chiefs averaged 6.0ypc
Rams averaged 1.6ypc

2011-2015 Playoffs
Steelers averaged 4.4ypc. 
Colts averaged 4.1ypc.
Chargers averaged 5.0ypc
Texans averaged 4.7ypc
Texans averaged 5.6ypc

He will get interviews, for sure. The jobs can be difficult. Teams seem to go for a different type of brand for NFL Head Coaches. If he wanted it, college HC jobs will rain down upon him.

(12-08-2022, 12:14 AM)TheFan Wrote: The most our offense ever scored in one of those games was 16. The least we scored in last year's run was 19. There wasn't a single game where our QB had more TDs than INT. 

Even with Lous defense we're losing those games. The only time we played well last year against the run was the superbowl. To say we were better is just a lie. They were shit the other games but our offense didn't absolutely pee down their leg like the Marvin Lewis era ones did. That's the difference. 

If you look at what RBs did running last year was worse. 

2022 Playoffs:
Raiders averaged 6.4ypc.
Tennessee averaged 5.3 ypc
Chiefs averaged 6.0ypc
Rams averaged 1.6ypc

2011-2015 Playoffs
Steelers averaged 4.4ypc. 
Colts averaged 4.1ypc.
Chargers averaged 5.0ypc
Texans averaged 4.7ypc
Texans averaged 5.6ypc

2011 Texans score 24 on def run for almost 200 yards 0 turnovers
2012  Texans gain over 400  yards 1 turnover

2013  Charger rush 190  0 turnovers score 27

2014.  Over 450 yards, 26 pts 1 turnovers

As I stated Zimmer defense underperformed also under in playoffs, 2 turnovers in 4 games,  Lou defense had 9  in 4 games .

(12-08-2022, 12:52 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: 2011 Texans score 24 on def run for almost 200 yards 0 turnovers
2012  Texans gain over 400  yards 1 turnover

2013  Charger rush 190  0 turnovers score 27

2014.  Over 450 yards, 26 pts 1 turnovers

As I stated Zimmer defense underperformed also under  in playoffs, 2 turnovers in 4 games,  Lou defense had 9  in 4 games .

I agree the turnovers were a huge difference and a big part of our post season success. In regards to yards though there was little difference. Obviously the teams total rush yards would be higher when the offense could do nothing. In the first 4 playoff games the offense scored 6 total points in the second half.

Again, I like Lou and hope he stays but it's factually untrue that his defenses have been better so far through his time here compared to what Zimmer accomplished during periods both here and with the Vikings. 

(12-08-2022, 01:06 AM)TheFan Wrote: I agree the turnovers were a huge difference and a big part of our post season success. In regards to yards though there was little difference. Obviously the teams total rush yards would be higher when the offense could do nothing. In the first 4 playoff games the offense scored 6 total points in the second half.

Again, I like Lou and hope he stays but it's factually untrue that his defenses have been better so far through his time here compared to what Zimmer accomplished during periods both here and with the Vikings. 

Part of reason was other team controlled clock, charger game great example. At this point in their career Lou has out performed Zimmer when it mattered most. Less a knock on Zimmer and more  a kudos to Lou.

(12-07-2022, 09:12 AM)Synric Wrote: DeMeco Ryans will probably be the first Defensive Coach to land a HC gig so that might keep Lou in Cincy another year.

I've heard Brian Callahan's name floated as a HC candidate over Lou too which I think is crazy.

I could see Callahan getting serious considerations from teams like Carolina and Houston (I feel confident Lovie is one and done), so they can pair him up with a rookie QB and hope he can rub some Burrow magic on him.

Or even Denver could come knocking again and see if he can fix Wilson. 

One thing I will say (and I'm a huge Mike Zimmer fan) is that Lou has his defensive roster ready to play all the way from the top to the bottom. Pretty much can be said for Callahan and Taylor on the other side of the ball. It's been a long time since we could go down key players and have backups that come in and never miss a beat. Zimmer had several great defensive units as long as the starters were healthy. I don't remember having a lot of quality depth. So as far as coaching up the whole units go, I'd give the edge to Lou.

(12-07-2022, 09:12 AM)Synric Wrote: DeMeco Ryans will probably be the first Defensive Coach to land a HC gig so that might keep Lou in Cincy another year.

I've heard Brian Callahan's name floated as a HC candidate over Lou too which I think is crazy.

Callahan and Eric Bienemy are vying for the same HC vacancy. Callahan gets it. Is that another win for the Bengals over the Chiefs or vice versa?

Aside from the schematic stuff, I'd just like to comment on the fantastic job we have done in the secondary under Lou.

Did anyone see Chido making a star turn when we signed him? Did anything in his past suggest it? How about the Eli Apple reclaimation project? Anyone have that on their bingo cards? The Tre Flowers TE Cooler mission? Even Davis looked pretty good when he had to fill in for the usually stellar Hilton. Von Bell's INT bounty this year? And now the better than expected start from CTB. Wow.

And the way way Pratt, Wilson, ADG, and Bailey have progressed at LB ain't nothing either.

What teams do we Suspect will be looking for a HC next year?

Theres the Colts and Panthers so far....

The thing about head coaches is coordinator success really isn't a great indicator of their success. One of the reasons team miss so bad is because they do look at their coordinator success as some sort of indicator of their HC success. Running a team is much more than X's and O's and that is kind of the intangible part that makes it tough to get the HC right.

When teams interview a HC candidate they really are trying to get at the bigger picture cultural view of what they want to do. One thing people talked about with Taylor is he came with this massive book, a plan for success. It was about rebuilding the culture and getting people that were the right fit. Inversely, I have talked to folks who say the reason Bienemy continues to not get HC jobs is because no one is buying his "vision", or as one person described it lack of, for the team long term.

As it relates to Lou, I think he is a lifer DC. There is nothing wrong with that and frankly Zimmer should have stayed a DC. He will get interviews and he may even get a job but I am not sure that is what is best for his success.

(12-08-2022, 01:03 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: What teams do we Suspect will be looking for a HC next year?

Off the top of my head:

Probably
Broncos
Texans
Panthers
Colts

Maybe
Cardinals
Jaguars

(12-08-2022, 01:23 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Part of reason was other team controlled clock, charger game great example. At this point in their career Lou has out performed Zimmer when it mattered most. Less a knock on Zimmer and more  a kudos to Lou.

I disagree but I can understand your point of view. Either way both have been great and it's splitting hairs.