Cincinnati Bengals Must Make These Changes on Defense After Firing Lou Anarumo

The Bengals fired Lou Anarumo on Jan. 6. They need to be significantly better on defense next season.

Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) celebrates after a stop in the third quarter of the NFL Week 16 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. The Bengals won 24-16. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati needed to play defense throughout the season as if they were playing the Chiefs every week, whom Lou Anarumo always seemed to have his defense prepared to play. 

Four his six defenses finished in the bottom third of the NFL in scoring defense, so change was definitely needed. Cincinnati appears to be on the brink of hiring a new coordinator in hopes of addressing some of the schematic issues that plagued them this season. 

However, there are also personnel issues that need to be addressed as well. Although the defense played better down the stretch, it appeared to be too little too late and is the main reason Cincinnati failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row. They wasted an MVP worthy season from Joe Burrow. 

All three levels left much to be desired regarding their physicality on defense. Becoming more physical in the middle of the defense should be a point of emphasis this offseason. When you allow players like DJ Reader to walk out of your building, you can expect to take steps backward. 

As a result, Cincinnati had one of the worse run defenses in the NFL, finishing 27th out of 32 teams.  

The defensive tackle spot is a position of need and acquiring some interior pass rush should help Trey Hendrickson take his game to another level. Re-signing him should be top priority defensively, while Sam Hubbard and Sheldon Rankins are potential cap casualties. Myles Murphy needs to take a huge step next season and fulfill the promise many saw of him coming out of college. 

The linebackers were the center piece of a unit that really struggled to consistently stop the run. Logan Wilson played through injury and ended the season on injured reserve. Akeem Gaither-Davis was forced to play more than expected on early downs and generally performed like their best linebacker in sub packages. Germaine Pratt led the team in tackles, but he also ranked third in the NFL in missed tackles, largely due to his limited ability in space. 

Gaither-Davis is a free agent and Pratt could be released. The back end was a mixed bag and was largely responsible for giving up many big plays in the passing game. Cam Taylor-Britt struggled immensely in coverage and should no longer play significant minutes. Geno Stone failed to show the ball hawking ability that made him a coveted free agent until late in the season when he secured three interceptions in the final five games. His tackling efficiency needs to be better.

Jordan Battle played later in the season and left many wondering why he hadn’t played earlier. 

Anarumo's reluctance to play younger guys certainly hurt the team this season. The secondary should get a boost with Dax Hill (ACL) and DJ Turner II (clavicle) poised to play prominent roles when they fully recovery from season-ending injuries.

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