Photo: Lou Anarumo (left) with his son Louis, head football coach Tom Masella, and Athletic Director Walt Hameline
Staten Island, NY – For the third consecutive year, a Wagner College graduate will have an opportunity to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo '90 will take on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday at 6:30 pm.
Anarumo will look to have the same success as former Seahawks Greg Senat and Cam Gill, whose teams won their respective Super Bowls in 2020 and 2021.
"We are excited to watch yet another Seahawk on football's biggest stage," said Wagner College Interim President Angelo Araimo. "Lou Anarumo is one of the brightest minds in the NFL and is a great representative of what Wagner and Staten Island are all about."
Anarumo is in his 10th season as an NFL coach, and third with Cincinnati, after joining the Bengals in 2019 as defensive coordinator.
A Staten Island native, Anarumo earned his B.S. degree in special education from Wagner in 1990. While in college, he served as head junior varsity coach at his high school alma mater, Susan Wagner High School, where he had previously played quarterback. Anarumo served as the part-time running backs coach at Wagner in 1990.
Wagner is one of six colleges where Anarumo has worked as an assistant coach, a list that includes Purdue, Harvard, Marshall, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Syracuse, before breaking into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins in 2012.
"It always makes you feel proud watching one of your former players or coaches on Sundays in the NFL," said Wagner Athletic Director Walt Hameline. "Watching a former Seahawk in three straight Super Bowls is even more special and we can't wait to cheer on Lou this Sunday."
Anarumo's Bengals earned a 27-24 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game to advance to their first Super Bowl since 1988.
Last year, former Wagner All-American Cam Gill won the Super Bowl following a convincing 31-9 victory over Kansas City.
"Lou has been a great friend of mine and a supporter of this football program for many years," head football coach Tom Masella added. "We are very proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best of luck on Sunday."
Gill made a tackle on a kickoff with 7:25 to play in the third quarter, before combining with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in taking down Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a sack with five minutes remaining in the game. Gill was also credited with a forced fumble on the play. Gill finished with 11 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in his second year in the NFL for the Buccaneers this past season.
In 2020, former two-sport standout Greg Senat was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl team.
Apart from Gill's impressive season, former Wagner defensive tackle Chris Williams was part of the Colts' practice squad, but was active for eight games. In the Colts' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 2, Williams made his second tackle of the season and appeared in nine defensive plays. In Indy's loss to Jacksonville in week 18, Williams contributed a season-high two solo stops.
Senat signed with the New York Jets at the end of the 2021 regular season after spending a majority of the season on the Colts' practice squad.
Lastly, veteran linebacker Julian Stanford wrapped up his ninth NFL season and second year with the Carolina Panthers. This past season, Stanford recorded 14 tackles and one forced fumble while appearing in every game for the Panthers.
Sunday's Super Bowl LVI will be broadcast on NBC, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
