NFL coach calls out Bengals for misusing a former starter who was released not even halfway through his contract
A harsh reminder of what happened between Nick Scott and the Bengals in 2023.
Carolina Panthers defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley claims the Cincinnati Bengals misused Panthers safety Nick Scott during Scott’s lone year in Cincinnati.
Cooley, who also coached Scott on the Los Angeles Rams, told Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer the Bengals had Scott playing out of position during his lone season in 2023.
“He’s somebody that drives a lot off confidence and belief and people having belief in him. And in Cincinnati, they put him in a spot where that was not — he was not very confident to play. So, they were relying on him on something that he never really displayed on film. So, that’s what made the Cincinnati year go awry for him.” — Johnathan Cooley on Nick Scott
Scott is about to start in a playoff matchup against the Rams Saturday afternoon. He was about to a salary cap casualty nearly two years ago in Cincinnati. Cooley isn’t too far off for why that was the case.
Bengals quickly learned they weren’t a fit for Nick Scott
Fresh off another deep postseason run, the Bengals dealt with major turnover in their defensive backfield as safeties Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell left town in free agency. Cincinnati knew how it would replace Bates, the free safety of the duo, as Dax Hill was drafted to fill that role. Losing and replacing Bell, who typically played closer to the line of scrimmage, had the Bengals acting more on the fly.
This is where Scott came into the equation. Cincinnati needed a Bell replacement, and the former seventh-round pick who was on the winning side of Super Bowl LVI signed a three-year. $12 million deal to slide in next to Hill and form a new starting safety tandem.
The results were disastrous.
Not only was Hill not a fit as a safety in general, Cooley is correct in his assessment. 53% of Scott’s snaps in 2023 came from the box, the slot, or right up on the line of scrimmage off the edge. That figure was 35% the year prior in L.A. He wasn’t tasked with similar alignments, and he notably struggled to the point where then-rookie Jordan Battle began starting over him in the second half of the season.
The Bengals’ answers to Bates and Bell departing resulted in a dramatic decline in their defense as a whole. They ranked eighth in EPA/play allowed in 2022, and wound up 27th in 2023. They were essentially married to Hill, given his contract was fully guaranteed as he was a first-round pick. Scott was significantly more expendable, and he was cut after earning just $4.4 million of his $12 million deal.
That’s how Scott was able to join Carolina in 2024, reunite with his former coach, and playing the position he knows best. The Bengals have since fired Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator responsible for telling Scott where to play, and will likely be looking for yet another safety this offseason to pair with Battle.
Cooley provided a harsh reminder of how their problem at safety began, but it was an accurate reminder nonetheless.
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