Cardinals will get a second interview with Bengals DC Lou Anarumo and two other coaches

Feb 4, 2023 - 11:52 PM

It has been 26 days since the Arizona Cardinals relieved Kliff Kingsbury of his duties as a head coach.

The Carolina Panthers hired Frank Reich, the Houston Texans hired DeMeco Ryans, and the Denver Broncos traded for Sean Payton.

Now, the Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts are the only teams remaining with a head coach vacancy.

Maybe, and just maybe, that search could be coming to an end soon.

According to NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo, the Cardinals will have a second interview with Bengals’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

Anarumo’s first interview with the Cardinals happened on Wednesday. Cincinnati’s defense allowed the sixth fewest points and had the seventh-ranked run defense in the NFL this season. Their starting safeties in Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell had four interceptions each. Anarumo’s unit limited the Buffalo Bills’ offense to 10 points scored in the AFC Divisional round a couple weeks ago. While the Bengals’ offense struggled against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round, their defense made plays when Cincinnati needed it most as they had a successful goal-line stand with a game-winning 98-yard fumble return touchdown by Sam Hubbard in the fourth quarter.

With that said, the second interviews does not stop there.

Ian Rapoport reported that Giants’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will also be getting a second interview with Arizona.

Giants’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka interviewed with the Cardinals on Tuesday. He is credited for Daniel Jones’ development as he coming off the best season of his four-year NFL career in Kafka’s first year as the play caller. Jones set career highs in completion percentage (67.2), passing yards (3,205), rushing yards (708), and rushing touchdowns (7). He also had the fewest thrown interceptions (5) of his career and won 10 total games this season which includes the Wild Card victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs. Saquon Barkley put himself back on the map as he re-established himself as a premier running back with a career high 1,312 rushing yards this year in Kafka’s run heavy offense.

And another second interview is expected to happen next week as well.

CBS NFL Insider Josina Anderson reported that Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is expected to have a second interview with the Cardinals.

The Lions’ defense allowed the fifth most points in the NFL but most of their struggles began in the first half of the season. Through the first seven games, the Lions allowed a league high 32.2 points per game. That number drastically improved in the final 10 games as the average dropped to 20.2 points during their hot 8-2 stretch. The Lions had a pair of rookies leading the team in sacks in Aidan Hutchinson (9.5) and James Houston (8). They also had a pair of rookies leading the team interceptions in Kerby Joseph (4) and Hutchinson (3).