Bengals can have confidence their latest coaching hire will work out better for them compared to other teams in recent years
The Cincinnati Bengals are putting the finishing touches on its coaching staff this week. Per multiple reports, the team is hiring Sean Desai as a senior defensive assistant. Desai, who's turning 42 in April, most recently held a similar position for the Los Angeles Rams in 2024. Prior to working under Sean McVay, Zac Taylor's […]
The Cincinnati Bengals are putting the finishing touches on its coaching staff this week. Per multiple reports, the team is hiring Sean Desai as a senior defensive assistant.
Desai, who's turning 42 in April, most recently held a similar position for the Los Angeles Rams in 2024. Prior to working under Sean McVay, Zac Taylor's former boss, Desai was the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023, the associate head coach of defense for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, and the DC of the Chicago Bears in 2021.
Desai was with the Bears for nine years, and Cincinnati will be his fifth team in as many years as he's had somewhat of a roller coaster ride of late. His Eagles defense in 2023 ranked 29th in the NFL in EPA/play allowed and 27th in success rate. Vic Fangio, whom Desai coached under in Chicago from 2015-18, replaced Desai last offseason and the Eagles ended up winning the Super Bowl thanks to their defense taking major leaps forward in just one year.
Despite his shortcomings in Philly, Desai had an integral role for the Rams under DC Chris Shula, but the club is now watching him leave for what could be a lateral move to another team.
Naturally, those familiar with the situation may look down on hiring Desai, but there's reason to believe the Bengals are the right fit for a somewhat maligned name in the coaching ranks.
Sean Desai's coaching history justifies Cincinnati's decision to hire him
Desai began his coaching career all the way back in 2006 when he was just 23 years old. He was getting his doctorate in educational administration at Temple and became the program's new academic graduate assistant that year. His first boss was none other than first-year head coach Al Golden, now the Bengals' DC.
Golden and Desai's partnership began and the former eventually promoted the latter to be DC at just 27 years of age. Desai became the youngest DC in college football and earned an interesting nickname for a coach: "The Bulldog."
“The Bulldog got everything done. He just bulldogged his way in,” Desai's predecessor Satyen Bhakta said in 2021. “Whatever was asked of him, he did at a high level. He did it while other guys quit: ‘It was too hard.’ I think that right then and there shows ambition.”
Desai followed Golden to Miami a year later in 2011 to be his assistant director of football operations. He spent one more season in the college ranks at Boston College before making the jump to the NFL, and this will be the first time he'll work with Golden since. His role indicates he will replace previous senior defensive assistant and long-time Bengals coach Mark Duffner.
So much of these vacancies are filled with coaches who've worked together before. Desai is just the latest example from around the league.
It's not as strong of a connection, but Taylor and McVay still have a good relationship from working together for a couple years in L.A. Taylor likely reached out to McVay to get another reference of Desai as a coach.
The Bengals aren't hiring Desai to do the same job he had for the Eagles two years ago. He'll work directly under someone he learned so much from when he first started out coaching. He's already been promoted to DC twice in his career, and it's not impossible for that to happen a third time if things go well in Cincinnati.
Desai should be the final coach the Bengals hire this offseason. Mike Moon, another former Golden assistant, is reportedly the other new coach who's yet to be officially announced.
Joe Burrow sets stern expectations for the Bengals’ defense under new defensive coordinator Al Golden
“We don’t have time to wait around.”
