Bengals defensive coordinator search: Who we are hearing as possible candidates

[Jamie_B]

43 minutes ago, Homer_Rice said:

 

fUCK gEORGE mASoN #%$

 

Signed,

An old-timey UCONN fan with a long memory.😀

 

 

 

:24:

 

Funny story, Tony Skin one of the players on that team, is now their head coach.

[PatternMaster]

1 hour ago, SF2 said:

I hate to echo Go on this but we fucking need players. Let me rephrase this: We need decent NFL starters.  We simply need to be OK at defense, not 25th (2024) or 31st (2023) out of 32.  

 

We have decent players, the scheme and coaching left a lot to be desired

[Jamie_B]

37 minutes ago, PatternMaster said:

 

We have decent players, the scheme and coaching left a lot to be desired

 

Trey, and Logan. Not sure we have much else. Hopefull for our young DTs, we might have a CB2 in there somewhere but the D has a lot of missing talent.

[MichaelWeston]

1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

 

Trey, and Logan. Not sure we have much else. Hopefull for our young DTs, we might have a CB2 in there somewhere but the D has a lot of missing talent.

Our talent was fine on D. It wasn't special but it wasn't bottom feeder. Lou's 2 biggest mistakes were sticking with an overly complicated defense and being so afraid to make mistakes that he didn't get enough young guys PT

[MichaelWeston]

Anarumo is being interviewed in Atlanta.....it is your density. 

[Jamie_B]

9 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

Our talent was fine on D. It wasn't special but it wasn't bottom feeder. Lou's 2 biggest mistakes were sticking with an overly complicated defense and being so afraid to make mistakes that he didn't get enough young guys PT

 

I just dont agree with that.

 

CTB got benched this season, DJ Turner got hurt and IMO is too small to play outside, Dax has not lived up to his draft spot and got hurt. Battle is ok, but Stone missed more tackles than I care to think about. Pratt regressed, the rest of our LBs not named Logan are JAGs. Hubbard should have just had the surgery, I hope he's not washed, but I fear he is. Murphy has been a bust so far (not a single sack the entire year?). Ossai had promise but I don't know he's worth retaining as he hasn't really been that great. Mike Hilton is a great blitzer but is bad in coverage at this point. BJ Hill is slightly above average.  

 

I'm not saying you have to have all pros at every position but a lot of these guys are JAGs or even worse. 

[|kennethmw|]

20 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

I just dont agree with that.

 

CTB got benched this season, DJ Turner got hurt and IMO is too small to play outside, Dax has not lived up to his draft spot and got hurt. Battle is ok, but Stone missed more tackles than I care to think about. Pratt regressed, the rest of our LBs not named Logan are JAGs. Hubbard should have just had the surgery, I hope he's not washed, but I fear he is. Murphy has been a bust so far (not a single sack the entire year?). Ossai had promise but I don't know he's worth retaining as he hasn't really been that great. Mike Hilton is a great blitzer but is bad in coverage at this point. BJ Hill is slightly above average.  

 

I'm not saying you have to have all pros at every position but a lot of these guys are JAGs or even worse. 

But is that their fault, or the fact that Lou seemed to like veterans?  One of the things I've seen is that they were concerned with his Development of young players.

[Jungletiger]

Matt Eberflus is in consideration.  Talk of the town, he is like Lou i.e. bend don't break, and doesn't blitz often.  He is a 4-3 guy, unlike Lou who want a 3-4 and ended up with a hybrid.  All his defenses do not start out great, sometimes they take to come together. 

 

[|SF2|]

8 minutes ago, kennethmw said:

But is that their fault, or the fact that Lou seemed to like veterans?  One of the things I've seen is that they were concerned with his Development of young players.

Kind of the million dollar question. They looked better at the end of the season with some of the young guys but we didn’t exactly finish the season playing the hardest teams. 

[T-Dub]

23 minutes ago, kennethmw said:

But is that their fault, or the fact that Lou seemed to like veterans?  One of the things I've seen is that they were concerned with his Development of young players.

 

 

With Lou and the defensive coaches also acting as scouts, it's on them either way.  They were involved in choosing these guys to begin with so if they also failed to develop them it's twice as bad if anything.

[claptonrocks]

2 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

Our talent was fine on D. It wasn't special but it wasn't bottom feeder. Lou's 2 biggest mistakes were sticking with an overly complicated defense and being so afraid to make mistakes that he didn't get enough young guys PT

That's as good of an explanation on Anarumo as I've seen.

[Cat]

9 hours ago, SF2 said:

Kind of the million dollar question. They looked better at the end of the season with some of the young guys but we didn’t exactly finish the season playing the hardest teams. 

Being out of position - maybe a scheme / coaching deal. But missing tackles, especially from a vet like Pratt? Seems that's on players.

[Shebengal]

54 minutes ago, Cat said:

Being out of position - maybe a scheme / coaching deal. But missing tackles, especially from a vet like Pratt? Seems that's on players.

Part of that may have had to do with the fact that Pratt was calling the defensive signals once Logan Wilson went down. 

[Jamie_B]

10 hours ago, kennethmw said:

But is that their fault, or the fact that Lou seemed to like veterans?  One of the things I've seen is that they were concerned with his Development of young players.

 

Are they not being developed or are they bad picks and maybe the people in charge of finding good picks should have been blamed instead of Lou?

 

I hope I'm wrong and a new DC fixes it because the alternative is it's going to take more time to rebuild things.

[texbengal]

On the defense, IMO it was really a confluence of several things... and most of them weren't good:

1. Relying on veterans who were well-versed in Lou's system BUT were either washed (Vonn Bell, Hilton in coverage) physically incapable of matching previous performance (Hubbard), or both. This decision also retarded progress for some of the younger talent who (while mistakes would be made early on) would hopefully improve with experience; 

2. Lack of quality depth that got exposed when injuries hit (really, everywhere) at points in the season - e.g. DT to start the year, LB when Logan went down (ADG was, by and large, below average) and CB with Dax Hill'/Turner, injuries etc.; 

3. Lack of sustained improvement of young players (Murphy, Ossai, Dax Hill, Turner, Stone, Battle)... which is both on the players themselves and the position coaches; 

4. Due to injury and lack of front-line talent, inserting rookies who flashed, but weren't ready to be full-time significant contributors (Jenkins, Jackson, Newton)

5. Regression in play for several key veteran starters (Pratt, CTB, Hubbard, BJ Hill);

6. Likely scheme complexity that affected young players (especially at DL and CB); 

7. Questionable personnel decisions - both in the draft and in FA - which resulted in a below-average roster

Bottom line, amidst the chaos, I did see some improvement late in the year for some of the young guys (CTB, Newton, Jenkins, Ossai, Jackson, Ivey) - and it seemed like both Turner and Dax were coming on before they got hurt. But there's still a lot of holes to be filled.

So as badly as they played for 3/4 of the season, it's not a bleak situation, and I'm hopeful that between the draft, new/better coaching, and improvement in the guys they already have, they can field (at least) an average defense. And given the offense's continued development, that should be enough to make a playoff run this fall. 

[dex]

Do I have this right? The only 2 candidates that have had a real interview thus far are the coordinators for the Patriots and Raiders? All other names are just speculation at this point?

[|High School Harry|]

Article elsewhere I don't have time to repost said, in essence,

when the Bengals let Jesse Bates walk, Lou's defense walked with him.

And Lou followed at the end of the season.

 

I still see Lou as somewhat of a scapegoat.

[MichaelWeston]

49 minutes ago, texbengal said:

On the defense, IMO it was really a confluence of several things... and most of them weren't good:

1. Relying on veterans who were well-versed in Lou's system BUT were either washed (Vonn Bell, Hilton in coverage) physically incapable of matching previous performance (Hubbard), or both. This decision also retarded progress for some of the younger talent who (while mistakes would be made early on) would hopefully improve with experience; 

2. Lack of quality depth that got exposed when injuries hit (really, everywhere) at points in the season - e.g. DT to start the year, LB when Logan went down (ADG was, by and large, below average) and CB with Dax Hill'/Turner, injuries etc.; 

3. Lack of sustained improvement of young players (Murphy, Ossai, Dax Hill, Turner, Stone, Battle)... which is both on the players themselves and the position coaches; 

4. Due to injury and lack of front-line talent, inserting rookies who flashed, but weren't ready to be full-time significant contributors (Jenkins, Jackson, Newton)

5. Regression in play for several key veteran starters (Pratt, CTB, Hubbard, BJ Hill);

6. Likely scheme complexity that affected young players (especially at DL and CB); 

7. Questionable personnel decisions - both in the draft and in FA - which resulted in a below-average roster

Bottom line, amidst the chaos, I did see some improvement late in the year for some of the young guys (CTB, Newton, Jenkins, Ossai, Jackson, Ivey) - and it seemed like both Turner and Dax were coming on before they got hurt. But there's still a lot of holes to be filled.

So as badly as they played for 3/4 of the season, it's not a bleak situation, and I'm hopeful that between the draft, new/better coaching, and improvement in the guys they already have, they can field (at least) an average defense. And given the offense's continued development, that should be enough to make a playoff run this fall. 

 

I think this is all true. When I say the D personnel was fine....I mean that with minor changes earlier we could have won one more game and made the playoffs. That's all. 

 

 

[MichaelWeston]

25 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Article elsewhere I don't have time to repost said, in essence,

when the Bengals let Jesse Bates walk, Lou's defense walked with him.

And Lou followed at the end of the season.

 

I still see Lou as somewhat of a scapegoat.

Lou didn't modify or adapt

 

Jessie Bates is gone. That's a fact. You cant just pretend he isnt

[New Jersey Bengal]

Who are we interviewing for the O line coach?

[texbengal]

45 minutes ago, New Jersey Bengal said:

Who are we interviewing for the O line coach?

 

Jim Turner and Paul Alexander (ducks head). 

[Arkansas Bengal]

Report: Bengals 'Could Have Interest' in Wink Martindale for Defensive Coordinator Job

Will the Bengals land the long-time defensive coordinator?

James Rapien | 34 Minutes Ago

 

 

Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants defensive coordinator Don Wink Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll walk to the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

In this story:

 

CINCINNATI — The Bengals could have interest in Wink Martindale for their vacant defensive coordinator job.

 

Martindale is currently college football's highest-paid coordinator. He's under contract through the 2026 season with the Michigan Wolverines. He's scheduled to make $2.5 million in 2025 and $2.7 million in 2026.

 

Martindale is interviewing for the Falcons defensive coordinator job on Tuesday and the Colts defensive coordinator job on Wednesday.

 

Former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will also interview for the Falcons and Colts jobs.

 

 

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/report-bengals-could-have-interest-in-wink-martindale-for-defensive-coordinator-job-01jhjx5p0336?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2upsuODL2qrUANR4sFPyfM3SBdxC0_HgXWU9RzJGHpLndSLioOGCiWXug_aem_l41bufIy-lzUSr_2kE_Qmg

[New Jersey Bengal]

Don't want him

[Jungletiger]

22 minutes ago, New Jersey Bengal said:

Don't want him

 

He won't have to defend against Joe in actual games  🤣I agree though, not high on my list.

[Jamie_B]

Joe got him fired from the Ravens. Nobody actually believes we "could" have interest do they?

 

The more names that just get thrown out there makes me think they have their guy and are just sending smoke screens until they can officially hire him.