The Cincinnati Bengals made an official statement that quarterback Joe Burrow is the future when they hired his position coach Dan Pitcher to become the new offensive coordinator in 2024. Burrow of course broke the embarrassing streak of playoff losses in Cincinnati after he took the team to the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship game in 2022. Burrow has become a superstar in his own right and Cincinnati will be relying on his talent and ability for years to come.
Joe Burrow Praises his New Offensive Coordinator upon Hire
While Burrow is an elite talent, he certainly would agree that he hasn’t made it to where he is today on raw talent alone. Burrow was drafted into a good situation in Cincinnati with a group of coaches that supported him and gave him the tools he needed to develop completely. The biggest coach on that list for Burrow happens to be Pitcher.
“Our relationship is as good as it gets,” Burrow said in a release. “I wouldn’t be the player I am today without him. He’s been preparing for this for years. He takes his job very seriously and does it with a lot of passion.”
One of the best traits that Burrow has brought to this Cincinnati team is leadership and one of the best things about it is that leadership is infectious. While Pitcher has been an excellent coach for Cincinnati since he was hired in 2016 as an offensive assistant, Burrow has elevated his game to a whole new level. The biggest thing that speaks volumes of Pitcher is the fact that the biggest strength of Burrow has been his ability to read a defense and make good decisions.
While some of that is Burrow being one of the highest IQ quarterbacks in the game today, a lot of that comes from work ethic in the film room and without a doubt he and Pitcher spend exorbitant amounts of time on it. One of the biggest question marks for young players coming into the NFL is work ethic and you have to give credit to Pitcher that he has helped develop the hardest worker in the NFL after Burrow was seen helping the defense with their film study after his season ending injury this season.
“I’m excited for Dan and his opportunity to increase his role on our staff,” Taylor added. “He has excelled in his job of helping develop our quarterbacks over the past five years. He has been a top contributor to our scheme and that role will now increase. I look forward to seeing him continue to grow in this new position.”
It will be interesting to see how the offense grows this season under new leadership or if Pitcher will essentially be second-in-command to Head Coach Zac Taylor all season. Taylor of course is an offensive-minded head coach who spent his entire career prior to his tenure in Cincinnati as a quarterbacks coach himself.
It’s safe to say with so many former quarterbacks coaches on the roster that the team is going to be flinging the ball around on offense for years to come. Cincinnati hasn’t been a primarily running team for decades and will certainly not be making that shift anytime soon with the emergence of Burrow. With the combination of Burrow and Pitcher, the Cincinnati offense is going to be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL next season.
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