Recapping where former Cincinnati Bengals coaches have landed for the 2024 NFL season
The Cincinnati Bengals of today have watched their coaching staff become altered from this year's hiring cycle. Their coaches of yesteryears have also seen developments with their own careers. While the Bengals were making playoff runs the past few years, a handful of their most notable coaches prior to the Zac Taylor regime were biding […]
The Cincinnati Bengals of today have watched their coaching staff become altered from this year's hiring cycle. Their coaches of yesteryears have also seen developments with their own careers.
While the Bengals were making playoff runs the past few years, a handful of their most notable coaches prior to the Zac Taylor regime were biding their time, awaiting for potential jobs.
Three of them seem to have landed ideal positions, and all three will face the Bengals at some point in 2024.
Marvin Lewis
The years since Lewis has been in Cincinnati are fewer than a third of the total years he lasted with the club. Lewis was the Bengals' head coach from 2003-18, and has since been out of the NFL entirely up until this year. He joined Antonio Pierce's staff with the Las Vegas Raiders and will be Pierce's assistant head coach.
Pierce played under Lewis for a season in 2022 when they were both with the Washington football team later to be named Commanders. Lewis' prior history with Pierce and 27 years coaching NFL ball being makes him an ideal high-tier assistant for the first-time head coach.
The Bengals will host the Raiders for the first time in six years this season, and it will be Lewis' first time being back in Paycor Stadium as a coach since leaving the team.
Mike Zimmer
Like Lewis, Zimmer also started out as a defensive coordinator before becoming a head coach for several years. The Bengals were one of three teams he was a DC for, but he was with the Cowboys for the longest out of the three. He finds himself back with America's team after spending two years away from the league altogether.
The Cowboys once again underwhelmed in the playoffs this year and had massive defensive issues in their most important game. Zimmer will return to his post nearly 20 years after he first left to remedy what ended up being severely broken under Dan Quinn, who's now the head coach of the Commanders.
A trip to Fort Worth is in store for the Bengals this year, where they'll face Zimmer and another former Bengals coach.
Paul Guenther
The guy who replaced Zimmer 10 years ago as Cincy's defensive coordinator was none other than Guenther. The Bengals employed him for 13 years after he followed Lewis from Washington, and he spent the final four calling plays for the defense. He won't be doing that at his new gig for the Cowboys as he'll be the run game coordinator on defense.
Guenther's history of coaching linebackers under Zimmer for many years gives him the ideal background to game plan run defense. His last gig was also under Zimmer as a senior defensive assistant coach in 2021 for the Minnesota Vikings.
