Former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth wants his post-playing career to end up in an NFL front office, and would be very open to joining the Bengals in this capacity.

Whitworth revealed to The Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway he would relish having a front office role with Cincinnati or, his other former team, the Los Angeles Rams.

I’m not interested in coaching, but I would love to be in a front office. I would love to be a part of helping set the culture and identity and process for how we do engineering and the way we go about things, creating those standards, and then be able to communicate that down throughout the building. I think that’s something you need. It’s definitely a passion of mine. That’s not to say that I don’t believe in the people that are there doing it now. I love mentoring guys. So, it’s not something that I would say, I’m aspiring to do. But it’s something that I would say, if I was ever going to do it, that’s kind of the thing I would want to do, is have a chance to go back to Cincinnati or LA and be in some kind of role like that.

Andrew Whitworth is the perfect Bengals front office addition

Whitworth last played for the Bengals in 2016 before finishing his 16-year career with Los Angeles. Hoisting the Lombardi Trophy was his last act as a player, and he did it against the team that drafted and rostered him for the first 11 years of his playing days.

Cincinnati saw Whitworth play at an elite level, and then watched him do the same with a completely different organization. The Rams aren’t just on the other side of the country as the Bengals. The way they have constructed rosters, including the one that defeated Whitworth’s former team with him on it, differs vastly in comparison. The idealogical contrasts between the franchises are as stark as you’ll find between two NFL clubs.

It’s the first reason why Whitworth is specifically qualified for the job.

Whitworth has well-rounded exposure in how NFL rosters are built

Just like there are many ways to skin a cat, building a contending NFL roster is not a one-size-fits-all process. Some teams go out of their way to accumulate compensatory picks and ensure all of their significant contributors are drafted and extended. Others are more willing to bring in pricey free agents. A mix of both aren’t afraid to make blockbuster trades and acquire star veterans, or better college players in the draft.

There are ultimately two extreme ends of the spectrum: the conservative side that hoards draft picks and almost exclusively invests internally, and the aggressive side that says “eff them picks” and makes money moves for outside talent.

Whitworth has been a part of both ends.

He saw first-hand how the Bengals want to always operate. Draft quality players, retain most of them, rack up comp picks to help replace departures, and use free agency in a very limited capacity.

For his second chapter, he witnessed the Rams go without a first-round pick for all five years of his tenure, trade for the likes of Aquib Talib, Jalen Ramsey, and Matthew Stafford, and generally never let guaranteed money get in the way of business.

He made several postseason appearances with both teams. He only won a ring with one of them.

Whitworth would understand the Bengals’ desire to operate their preferred way, while providing first-hand wisdom on how occasional acts of aggression can bolster their chances instead of diminishing them.

You want to make moves that are significant. Everyone in the building is like, it’s go time. That, to me, is what I’m looking for. My point is that now here you are in another window where you’ve got some young talent on the team, don’t let it go by and not shoot your shot. Shooting your shot is not paying guys that have been there, that have proven that they earned money. Shooting a shot is like, this is something that seems a little risky, and we’re putting ourselves out there, but it’s what we think gets us over the hump.

Whitworth understands drafting well is more important than anything; L.A. does not win Super Bowl LVI without nailing that aspect. He knows Cincinnati will also always prioritize this part of the process over everything else.

That understanding is the second reason why he’s the man for the job.

Whitworth being a familiar face only boosts his case

The Bengals have a case for being the most insular franchise in the NFL. They operate with a small circle, and wouldn’t have it any other way. You can bet against a private equity firm ever having involvement in the organization unless the league forces it to happen.

If they don’t know you, they don’t trust you. Duke Tobin’s been there for nearly 30 years and still isn’t a regular general manager. Cincinnati’s front office believes in what it believes, and an outsider is not going to come in and introduce new and fresh ideas.

Whitworth, however, is not an outsider. Having played under Mike Brown and Co. for over a decade, he knows the family very well. He’s been on both the prosperous and harsh side of their business practices. His familiarity and acceptance of their style should grant him a level of trust very few others in his position could possibly have.

Nobody just enters that building and tells the establishment how to run things. Nobody ever will. Only someone who understands them and can play their game has the ability to push for incremental, yet notable change in the right direction.

Whitworth would be an unknown as a front office executive. But if there’s anyone with the motivation, mindset, and the Bengals could trust in adding to their tight-knit group, he is the beginning and end of the list.

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