It seems the Bengals are close to finally making a decision for their coordinator position.
The defensive coordinator position for the Cincinnati Bengals appears to be down to two final names.
Drae Harris of Sports Illustrated reports that the Bengals are down to Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. Harris also says he considers Golden to be the favorite for the job and believes that’s who gets the nod.
Graham has been a dark horse around the league several times now. He even interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars head-coaching job this cycle. His numbers from this season aren’t wowing, but certain things show he was able to do more with less talent.
Both the Raiders and Bengals allowed 25.5 points per game while allowing seven fewer touchdowns. They allowed fewer passing and rushing yards a game, though. That is to say, the Raiders’ defense was much better a season ago, allowing just 19.5 points per game and ranking near or in the top 10 in yardage categories.
This shows how he was able to field an elite-level defense despite not really having that much talent.
The Raiders have been a flat out ELITE defense under Patrick Graham since week 9. Broncos offense struggling to move the ball shouldn’t be too surprising. pic.twitter.com/bwKRsLA3n6
— Frankie Abbott (@FrankiesFilm) January 7, 2024
The Bengals are very familiar with Golden. He was their linebackers coach for 2020 and 2021, helping develop Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt. He then became the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame for the 2022 season and has fielded a tough unit ever since. They are top 10 or just outside of scoring third-down conversions and red-zone efficiency.
He will be coaching in the National Championship on January 20th against Ohio State. We could see more traction on this decision after that.
Coaching a revolving door of players in college is probably closer to what the Bengals may be doing if they actually pay the trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Both have shown an ability to adapt their scheme a bit when necessary.
Cincinnati’s job could be attractive as when you look at the offensive side of the ball, you realistically only need to hold teams under 30 to look even halfway decent. Something the unit has struggled with the past two seasons.
Do either of these names get you excited?
