Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles sees greatness in Bengals QB coach Dan Pitcher
The coaching continuity the Cincinnati Bengals have is very rare. Only the Kansas City Chiefs can claim to have something similar in today's NFL. When coordinators Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan were interviewing for head coaching gigs, it seemed like some turnover on the staff was inevitable. The feeling only increased when quarterbacks coach Dan […]
The coaching continuity the Cincinnati Bengals have is very rare. Only the Kansas City Chiefs can claim to have something similar in today's NFL.
When coordinators Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan were interviewing for head coaching gigs, it seemed like some turnover on the staff was inevitable.
The feeling only increased when quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher sought interviews as well.
Pitcher was a very real candidate to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator. Such a promotion would put him on the fast-track to become a head coach in the near future.
That fate is probably still in store for Pitcher so long as Joe Burrow and the Bengals' offense keep succeeding. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles thinks it's the case right now.
"I saw him a year ago when we played them. He does such a great job developing Joe Burrow, he does a great job schematically helping out," Bowles said to Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson. "[After] I interviewed him, I think he's going to be a heck of a coach in this league and he brings something to the table from an ingenuity standpoint about running an offense that you normally don't get in this league and I have a lot of respect for him."
As a team beginning the process of transitioning at quarterback, hiring Pitcher made perfect sense for the Bucs. But the seven-year Bengals assistant opted to return to Cincinnati and start working under a lucrative new deal that essentially makes him the OC in waiting once Callahan moves on to greater things.
That keeps the Bengals on pace to pick up where they left off, as well as Pitcher for future opportunities.
This will not be the last time Pitcher will garner interest for a bigger role somewhere outside Cincinnati. In Bowles' mind, the longer the Bengals keep him around, the better.
