Bengals denied a request by Chargers to interview Jordan Kovacs

Jim Harbaugh wanted Jordan Kovacs to join the Chargers, but the Bengals said no.

The Cincinnati Bengals announced a trio of coaching moves Thursday, including the promotion of Jordan Kovacs to secondary/safeties coach. He replaces Robert Livingston, who is leaving to become the defensive coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Bengals actually had some competition to keep Kovacs, as the Los Angeles Chargers wanted to interview him for a position on Jim Harbaugh’s staff.

However, the Bengals blocked the request, according to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport.

Kovacs previously worked with the Michigan Wolverines under Harbaugh from 2017-18. That was actually Kovacs’ first coaching job when he worked as a defense and special teams assistant at Michigan for two years. He then became a defensive quality coach with the Bengals from 2019-21, coming to the Queen City as part of Zac Taylor’s first staff.

In 2022, Kovacs was promoted to assistant linebackers coach, where he’s worked the past two seasons. He’s actually a former defensive back who played collegiately at Michigan from 2009-12, then played in the NFL for four seasons before calling it a career.

One of those seasons was with the 2013 Miami Dolphins alongside then-quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor. That connection helped lead to Kovacs joining Taylor’s debut staff in 2019.