During a two-week hurricane of NFL developments and news, the Bengals have been quietly moving forward in their bunker of continuity at Paycor Stadium.

With nearly the entire coaching staff returning and in place, Zac Taylor is suddenly the second-most tenured head coach in the AFC, only behind Andy Reid. Taylor, who was hired in 2019, is tied with Green Bay’s Matt Lafleur for the fifth-most tenured in the entire NFL. This follows Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh and now Sean McDermott parting with their longtime employers over the last few weeks.

The Bengals have been conducting draft meetings as the personnel department hits the all-star game circuit in the coming weeks.

Even the quiet Bengals can’t avoid being hit by shrapnel in the news cycle. From impactful trends of the final four teams remaining to possibilities resulting from other coaches being fired to the expanded path for offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, there’s plenty to take away from the seismic January shift in the NFL.

Pitcher interview circuit

One of the more stunning developments over the past two years has been the lack of head coach interviews for the Cincinnati offensive coordinator. Pitcher, interviewed for the Browns job last week, but that’s the only head coach interview he’s drawn over the last two cycles.

That’s surprising given the success and impressive, varied background he brings to the table as a head coach candidate. Pitcher came up as a scout, built the Bengals analytics philosophy from scratch alongside director of football research Sam Francis, served as Joe Burrow’s quarterbacks coach from Day 1 and led the last two evolutions of the offense that saw Ja’Marr Chase churn out a receiving triple crown and Burrow an MVP-level season.

He was a rare holdover from the Marvin Lewis era in Cincinnati and quickly became a foundational engine of the coaching staff.

So, why would he not have more interest as a head coach? He does not call plays, which hasn’t bothered teams granting interviews with other candidates (namely, when Tennessee hired his predecessor Brian Callahan two years ago). Also, the Bengals’ lack of team success plays a role — the job he’s done leading the offense has stayed out of the spotlight because of the defense’s failures the last two seasons.

When Pitcher took the promotion from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator two years ago after Callahan left, he had interviewed for the same position in Tampa Bay. Well, after one interview with Clevleand, Pitcher is again interviewing for the Buccaneers’ OC job. That’s proven to be one of the best catalysts to become a head coach in recent years, with both Dave Canales and Liam Coen spending one season before landing a job as a head coach.

Could Pitcher be next?

There’s a draw to call plays for the first time, certainly, but also expanding out of the shadow of Burrow could hurt his image as well. Right or wrong, for better or worse, Burrow will always receive a vast amount of the credit for the success of Cincinnati’s offense. Not until Jake Browning took over and enjoyed success down the stretch after Burrow’s wrist injury in 2023 did Callahan become a popular head coach candidate. A move to Tampa and promotion could help Pitcher’s profile on multiple fronts.

Pitcher could end up interviewing for play-calling offensive coordinator jobs as the nine other new head coaches fill out their staffs over the next month.

What would the Bengals do if Pitcher leaves? Well, they don’t need to do much. Taylor merely needs to text one of his best friends in coaching and the previous OC, Callahan. Fired as Titans head coach after 23 games, Callahan backed away and spent time with family. He’s looking at potentially returning to coaching next year and has taken offensive coordinator interviews with the Bucs and Chargers.

For a team largely banking its hopes for 2026 on continuity with the personnel department, coaching staff and offensive players, Callahan emphatically checks all three of those boxes. His familiarity with Burrow, Chase, Tee Higgins and the system and his history as Taylor’s right-hand man make him a perfect fit for the Bengals’ plan.

Cincinnati would open the search and weigh all options, of course, and timing can be tricky with all the jobs that are in the air right now, but Callahan would be the leader in the clubhouse for the job by a wide margin.

Trends of the final 4

One of the main observations from Pitcher at the conclusion of the regular season was that the Bengals needed to spend time studying why their turnover rate spiked so much this past season.

Cincinnati turned the ball over 24 times, nine of which were returned for touchdowns, tying a franchise record and surpassing the last three years combined.

The offense threw 17 picks, most since 2014, with an interception rate of 2.7 percent. That’s the largest impact of missing Burrow, who led all quarterbacks in turnover-worthy play percentage (0.7 percent) this past year and finished in the top 10 in the stat every season since his rookie year.

Watching the divisional round illustrated the importance of being in the elite tier of that stat. Turnovers, as they often do, decided every close game. Five turnovers by the Bills, four by the Texans and three by the Bears sealed their fates.

Burrow wasn’t perfect, notably two fourth-quarter interceptions in Buffalo going a long way to killing any hope of a late-season playoff push. His history when on the field, however, lends itself to winning football and avoiding another turnover-filled spiral.

All out to all in

This marks the third consecutive season in which at least one team among the final four was not in the postseason the previous year. Neither New England nor Seattle made the playoffs last year. The Patriots made a change at head coach and the Seahawks made a change at quarterback, dealing Geno Smith while signing Sam Darnold. Both those moves have proven to be among the most shrewd of the year.

In 2024, Washington joined the party with a new head coach in Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

In 2023, Detroit broke through in the third year of Dan Campbell and Jared Goff.

The Bengals will try to keep the trend rolling next year with a full, healthy season of Burrow, along with what they believe to be the benefits of continuity in an NFL sea of change as the fuel to rise up.

Hudson news

The Bengals started the process of signing internal free agents, agreeing to a one-year extension with tight end Tanner Hudson. Bringing back the 31-year-old was one of the easiest decisions of the offseason. He developed chemistry with Burrow quickly and over the last three seasons and led the team in success percentage per route run against zone coverage. Teams are scared to play man coverage when Chase and Higgins are healthy, and Hudson’s awareness and ability to find space to create an easy target have become real weapons to move the chains.

Hudson’s return puts the tight end room in great shape for 2026. Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample are both under contract, as well, with 2024 fourth-round pick Erick All returning from two ACL surgeries that kept him out of the entire 2025 season.