The Cincinnati Bengals had a disappointing season in 2023 but the coaching staff has garnered a wide amount of respect around the league. While struggling to show creativity, Cincinnati is predicted to lose both offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to head coaching vacancies this offseason. Therefore, an important question for Cincinnati is who will fill each of those positions.
Bengals Next Offensive Coordinator Revealed
While the Cincinnati Head Coach Zac Taylor has stated he expects his coaching staff to return complete next season, it has already been revealed that Callahan has taken interviews for a number of head coaching vacancies including the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. Therefore, it becomes significant to decide who are likely candidates to replace Callahan as the leader of the Cincinnati offense.
While I am a huge Cincinnati fan, I have a strong dislike about how the Brown family does business. The ownership team typically hires friends and family while placing a heavy emphasis on familiarity over talent. Therefore, I would highly suspect the next offensive coordinator to come from inside of the Cincinnati coaching staff.
With loyalty heavily in mind, it seems likely that the next offensive coordinator in Cincinnati will be quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Pitcher has clearly ingratiated himself into the Brown family as he was one of the few coaches to survive the firing of former Head Coach Marvin Lewis. While Pitcher performed admirably to maximize the talent of former starting quarterback Andy Dalton, his greatest accomplishment has been the development of current starting quarterback Joe Burrow into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
While Pitcher doesn’t have experience calling plays at the professional level, Taylor has previously stated that his play calling strategy revolves around the offensive coaching staff crowdsourcing plays over the microphone so that wouldn’t inhibit a smooth transition into the fold. In Cincinnati, the most significant aspect of the offensive coordinator is the ability to develop players and maximize talent on a cooperative level.
While I believe Pitcher will become the offensive coordinator, there is always the possibility that the position will be left vacant. Taylor is clearly an offensive coach and it wouldn’t be unprecedented for a offensive minded coach to essentially act as the teams de facto offensive coordinator. While this might seem appealing to retain the status quo, all of the liability would land on Taylor when he is the only real authority on the offensive coaching staff.
Cincinnati will likely promote from within for their offensive coaching staff and attempt to appease their elite quarterback by giving his mentor the offensive coordinator position.
