Marvin Lewis‘ 2013 offensive and defensive coordinators are both now running teams of their own, with Jay Gruden having departed for Washington and Mike Zimmer coaching the Vikings. But Lewis and the Bengals have plenty of confidence that installing a pair of new coordinators this season won’t have an adverse effect on the club, as the head coach tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
“The timing of when Jay and Mike were offered head coaching positions and they accepted, it couldn’t have played any better for me and made it a much easier transition without much angst, which was good,” Lewis said. “And it was good for our players as well knowing they could continue on with people who knew them. … We are able to come in and pick up where we left off.”
In addition to exploring the integration of Hue Jackson and Paul Guenther into their new roles on the Bengals’ coaching staff, La Canfora also explores a number of other topics of note after his visit to Cincinnati’s training camp. Let’s round up the highlights….
- La Canfora doesn’t expect a contract agreement between Andy Dalton and the Bengals before the season gets underway, and it’s unlikely that the two sides would continue negotiations during the season. According to La Canfora, there hasn’t been any progress or movement lately, and it doesn’t seem as if Dalton’s camp is interested in a short-term bridge deal or a long-term deal without much money up front (a la Colin Kaepernick‘s extension).
- The door has been opened for 2011 first-rounders to sign contract extensions after Patrick Peterson and Tyron Smith inked new deals this week, and La Canfora wouldn’t be surprised if A.J. Green ultimately landed an extension before Dalton. For now, the Bengals have the star wideout locked up through 2015 after exercising his fifth-year option, but the team will want to keep him around long-term.
- The Bengals also continue to work on a new deal for linebacker Vontaze Burfict, with the goal of getting something done before the season gets underway, says La Canfora.
- Mohamed Sanu could be a beneficiary of Andrew Hawkins‘ free agent departure to Cleveland, according to La Canfora, who says Sanu is “generating a strong buzz” in camp.