How the Cincinnati Bengals must go about hiring a new offensive coordinator
The Cincinnati Bengals are in the market for a new offensive coordinator after Brian Callahan was hired by the Tennessee Titans to become their next head coach. This means head coach Zac Taylor will search for a new offensive coordinator for the first time since he became the head coach in Cincinnati in 2019.
It's important to note a few things when discussing what the Bengals will do in this search. First, the notion that Taylor can promote someone from within and announce the deal right away is incorrect. The NFL has a strict policy in place for the hiring cycles that teams must follow. This will likely take some to be finalized.
Next, Taylor will need to act quickly in the process as coaching staffs are going to be filled out soon as the NFL started with seven vacant head coaching jobs to start the offseason. With the Titans recent decision to hire Callahan, there’s still five openings and once those are filled, some of Taylor’s main targets could be off the market.
And finally, Taylor has several contingency plans in place for situations just like this. Last year, Taylor had to prepare for the possibility of losing both his offensive and defensive coordinators as both defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Callahan received interviews in the head coaching cycle. He knows who he wants to interview, and this will help escalate the process.
Explaining the NFL’s Rooney Rule and what it means to the Bengals’ OC search
In hopes to further diversify the pipeline of coaches, the NFL has recently made some changes to the Rooney Rule and how it now applies to the hiring process for coordinators and the quarterbacks coach.
NFL teams must now interview at least two external minority candidates for the position. Coordinator position interviews will satisfy Rooney Rule requirements. This means even if Taylor has someone on his current staff that he wants to promote to the job, he must go through the full process. This will likely slow the search down as Taylor will now interview several candidates for the position.
Who is the front-runner to land the job?
The succession plan has been laid out for years now in terms of who would replace Callahan if he were to get a head coaching job. Current quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher is widely praised in the organization for his work with Joe Burrow and is expected to be the favorite to land the job.
There’s a wrinkle here, though. As mentioned above, there’s a process Taylor must go through and while he’s doing so, Pitcher is scheduled to interview with three other teams for their vacant offensive coordinator position. The Saints, Patriots and Raiders have all requested to interview Pitcher. If one of those teams gives Pitcher an offer he can’t refuse, things could get complicated.
There’s also the point about calling plays. Taylor continues to be the Bengals’ play-caller and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon, nor should it as Taylor has led the Bengals to a Super Bowl and an AFC championship will calling the plays.
If Pitcher gets offered more money and the chance to call plays, that could be intriguing to him. It’s also worth pointing out that Pitcher has a close relationship with Burrow and doesn’t necessarily need to go call plays somewhere else to get a head coaching job in the NFL. Look no further than Taylor and Callahan as examples of this.
Pitcher joined the Bengals’ organization in 2017 and has worked on former head coach Marvin Lewis and Taylor’s staffs. Before moving to Cincinnati, Pitcher worked in the personnel department for the Indianapolis Colts.
How promoting Dan Pitcher would open up another important job on the Bengals’ coaching staff
If Pitcher is in fact the coach who lands the offensive coordinator job, this means the Bengals will be looking for a new quarterbacks coach. The Rooney Rule applies to this process as well as the NFL mandates teams must conduct an interview with one external minority candidate for the position.
Brad Kragthorpe is current the Bengals’ assistant quarterbacks coach who will likely be in the mix for the position but Taylor has connections all over the league. It’s all dependent on what Taylor prioritizes at this position that works so closely with Burrow. Would he want to keep it in house with someone that’s worked with Burrow before or does he want more of a veteran coach from outside?
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator job opening candidates
