On Wednesday afternoon, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that they are hiring quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher to replace Brian Callahan as the offense coordinator. I will admit though, I have learned to give Head Coach Zac Taylor a chance on some of the lower profile hiring decisions as both coordinators Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo have become solid coaches without any glaring weaknesses. It is important to note that after promoting a positional coach to a coordinator position, it is important to analyze what this means for the Cincinnati offense this season as any coaching change is likely to come with a boatload of changes.
What is the Significant Behind the Hiring Decision for the Cincinnati Bengals?
While this may look like a promotional move, there are important messages to interpret from the decision that provide insight into the way Cincinnati is going to operate this season.
1) Cincinnati Continues Trend of “Buddy Hires” under Zac Taylor
The first thing to note from this decision is that the hiring of Pitcher continues the trend of Taylor hiring coaches more based on who he knows rather than merit. When Taylor was hired, he brought in Callahan based on a connection made when Taylor played for his father Bill Callahan at the University of Nebraska from 2005 to 2006 and he brought in Anarumo based off of their shared experience on the Miami Dolphins staff from 2012 to 2015.
Even the other interview candidates such as Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson had coached with Taylor at prior positions. Dickerson was the assistant offensive line coach when Taylor was with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018. The likely way to perceive this habit of Taylor’s is that as an inexperienced coach, he doesn’t yet trust his interview skills to be able to trust the talent and personality types of job candidates. With his inexperience, he completely depends on prior experience to pick out coaches to fill his staff.
Taylor has been a solid coach in Cincinnati but his experience has shown on more than one occasion.
Play Calling Strategy Will Remain the Same for Bengals in 2024
Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp July 29 0020
Syndication The Enquirer
Another strange approach that Cincinnati has reportedly followed is that up to this point, Taylor has stated that the offensive coaching staff crowd sources play calls over their in-game communications. While that may be the democratic approach, there are some major advantages to having one experienced coach call the plays.
The biggest issue with the crowd sourcing strategy is that it has done major harm to Cincinnati’s capability to get into a rhythm offensively. One coach may be able to use plays to build off of each other in a sequence, Cincinnati seems to just call random plays without much thought on a cohesive strategy. I have repeatedly commented that the entire offense resolves around elite quarterback Joe Burrow lobbing the ball up for his elite receivers and letting them make a play. Rarely does it seem like the team is setting up a corner for a double move or setting a defense up for a change later in the game.
I won’t judge Pitcher too harshly based on his inexperience but based on the fact that he has never called plays before as well as his role on the coaching staff last year, it would be safe to assume that the team will maintain the crowd sourcing strategy. Whether Taylor is resolute on this system based on a desire to remain democratic or a lack of confidence in his own play calling.
Without Experience, Pitcher’s Offense Will Likely Have an Aerial Focus
It is difficult to predict what offense Pitcher will be pushing without any experience calling plays but there are some factors that influence the odds. Pitcher played the quarterback position and then up to now, he has been a quarterbacks coach for his entire NFL coaching career. Therefore, it is likely that he will further emphasize the importance of the passing game and focus on a conservative game plan that limits turnovers.
On top of that, his lack of experience and the continuing emergence of Burrow as an NFL power will likely lead to an increased amount of freedom and creative license given to the quarterback this upcoming season. The team clearly trusts Burrow completely but there is a possibility that as he outgrows the coaching staff, the team could start operating similar to the way that Aaron Rodgers did late in his tenure in Green Bay with inexperienced offensive coordinators.
With another year of Anarumo and another quarterback-focused offensive coordinator, the scheme may get even more aggressive than it has over the past few seasons. The defense will be even more focused on generating turnovers and the offense will focus more on big plays in the passing game.
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