Pitcher reportedly came close to being Bowles’ OC.
One downside of the recent run of success for the Cincinnati Bengals is other teams poaching their staff members. We saw offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo both in the running for head coaching positions, and we saw quarterback coach Dan Pitcher nearly leave to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator.
At the NFL meetings, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke about Pitcher, and it sounds like somewhat of a surprise Pitcher didn’t get the job.
“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 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.”
With how much Bowles seems to admire Pitcher, it would seem that he was closer to actually getting the job than we might have thought. Luckily, the Bengals were able to retain his services and give him at least another season working with Joe Burrow.
As Burrow progresses and the Bengals offense looks to continue the success we have seen over the last two seasons, it is safe to say Pitcher will be in the mix for coordinator jobs next off-season at the very least. As we saw with the hiring of Zac Taylor, it is even possible for a quarterback coach to move straight into a head coaching role.
Pitcher certainly has a bright future, but for now, we can all be thankful he will be back in Cincinnati for at least the 2023 season.
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