Defensive Player of the Year finalist credits Bengals' new assistant coach for heavily influencing his game
The player Zack Baun is now is not the same player he was five years ago. The New Orleans Saints drafted Baun to become an off-ball linebacker after a college career spent playing on the line of scrimmage at Wisconsin.It took years for the transition to pay off, and the Philadelphia Eagles have reaped the […]
The player Zack Baun is now is not the same player he was five years ago. The New Orleans Saints drafted Baun to become an off-ball linebacker after a college career spent playing on the line of scrimmage at Wisconsin.
It took years for the transition to pay off, and the Philadelphia Eagles have reaped the benefits this season as Baun is days away from potentially claiming Defensive Player of the Year honors and a few more days from playing in Super Bowl LIX.
But it all started with taking coaching from one of the Cincinnati Bengals' newest assistant coaches, Mike Hodges.
The Bengals hired Hodges last week to be their new linebackers coach, the same role he held from 2020-24 in New Orleans. One of his firsts tasks in that position for the Saints was teaching Baun the ropes as a rookie during an altered offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years later, Baun thinks back on that time, and on Hodges, very fondly.
"He had a lot of influence on my game," Baun said of Hodges during Monday's Opening Night. "From the jump during COVID, he was helping me out, obviously making that transition from on the ball to off the ball. Great coach. Very detail-oriented and even better person.
"A friend for life."
Baun only played 102 snaps as a rookie that season and 684 during his four years with the Saints, but his breakout season with the Eagles wouldn't have been possible without Hodges' coaching during the early years. It just took the right fit and opportunity for his career to blossom the way it's happening right now.
Philadelphia signed Baun to a one-year deal last offseason worth just $3,500,000. Yesteryear's price won't be the same price in a month's time when he enters free agency again, and while the Bengals aren't likely to pay it and reunite Baun with his first position coach, they'll have confidence in Hodges for developing more players like Baun for their defense.
