Dan Pitcher

Dan Pitcher Interviews For Bucs’ OC Job

January 27th, 2023 at 3:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers’ future with Tom Brady is uncertain, but if the team is to retain the 45-year-old icon, a significant age gap may exist between he and the offensive coordinator.

Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher interviewed for the Bucs’ OC position Friday, the team announced. Although Pitcher has served as Joe Burrow‘s position coach throughout the superstar quarterback’s Cincinnati tenure, he is a Marvin Lewis staff holdover who has been with the franchise since 2016.

Pitcher, 36, joins other 30-somethings Jim Bob Cooter (38) and Klint Kubiak (35) to interview for the Tampa Bay play-calling gig. The Bucs also plan to interview Giants QBs coach Shea Tierney (36) for the job. Although it is not certain the Bucs will go forward with the unusual Gen-X quarterback-Millennial OC setup, the team is targeting a host of young play-caller types. Keenan McCardell, who played for the team in the early 2000s, is the only staffer the Bucs have interviewed over 40.

Following the Browns’ Alex Van Pelt OC hire in 2020, Pitcher moved from the Bengals’ assistant quarterbacks coach to QBs coach — during an offseason in which Burrow-to-Cincinnati became a foregone conclusion. The Bengals striking gold with the LSU-developed talent has meant attention for Pitcher, who began his NFL coaching career as a Bengals staff assistant back in 2016. Pitcher worked in that low-level capacity during Lewis’ final three seasons, and Zac Taylor kept him on board upon arriving in 2019.

Burrow has yet to land any Bengals assistants jobs elsewhere just yet, and few teams have inquired about Pitcher or OC Brian Callahan. The latter had one HC interview this offseason — with the Colts — and this is believed to be Pitcher’s first OC meeting. Taylor calling plays undoubtedly has an effect on the interest in his lieutenants, but the Bengals’ rise over the past two years will run the risk of Taylor’s staff splintering. However, due to the sparse interest so far, the prospect of a Taylor-Callahan-Pitcher trio returning for a fifth season together in 2023 appears live. Though, a batch of new OC openings is set to emerge — as the HC-needy teams have yet to begin their searches in earnest — and the Bengals’ playoff success could certainly lead to additional Callahan or Pitcher interest.

AFC North Notes: Burrow, Stefanski, Ravens

February 5th, 2020 at 7:07pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bengals are widely expected to take LSU QB Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, but there may be a bit of intrigue in that regard, per Albert Breer of SI.com. Burrow will work with former Bengal Jordan Palmer, the little brother of franchise icon Carson Palmer, for his pre-draft training. And the elder Palmer recently had some critical comments for Cincinnati, saying that the club was never really dedicated to chasing a Super Bowl.

Burrow subsequently said the following: “[y]ou want to go No. 1. But you also want to go to a great organization that is committed to winning. Committed to winning Super Bowls.” That may just be a coincidence, and Burrow’s father recently downplayed any notion that Burrow doesn’t want to be picked by the Bengals (Twitter link via Jeremy Rauch of FOX 19), but Breer believes Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin may need to sell Burrow on the team just a bit.

Now for more from the AFC North:

As expected, the Bengals have promoted Dan Pitcher to quarterbacks coach after Alex Van Pelt left for Cleveland’s OC job, the team announced. Pitcher will have a significant role in Burrow’s development, assuming Cincy selects the LSU signal-caller.
We passed along some remarks from new Browns GM Andrew Berry earlier today, and new Cleveland HC Kevin Stefanski also took to the podium. Scott Patsko of Cleveland.com passes along the entire transcript, which is worth a read for Browns fans, but much of it was fairly non-committal coach-speak, which Stefanski has already mastered. Stefanski, though, made it a point to note that he will be heavily involved in making personnel decisions with Berry, and he said he does not know who will be calling offensive plays this year.
Though the Ravens have more cap flexibility this year than in past seasons, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic does not expect a spending spree. He predicts perhaps one big-ticket item and a few modest signings, and much will depend on what the club decides to do with pass rusher Matt Judon — a situation that is still fluid — and whether RG Marshal Yanda retires. He also names OL James Hurst as a potential release candidate.
Steelers president Art Rooney II indicated his club may target a RB and/or WR in free agency, per Teresa Varley of Steelers.com, though Rooney said Pittsburgh is content with the quarterback situation as it is. Behind Ben Roethlisberger, the club will roll with some combination of Mason Rudolph, Duck Hodges, and Paxton Lynch.

Bengals Notes: Taylor, Turner, Casey, Martin

February 6th, 2019 at 9:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Bengals head coach Zac Taylor will call his own offensive plays, as he told reporters at his introductory press conference on Tuesday (Twitter link via Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV). Taylor was hired on the strength of his offensive acumen, so it’s no surprise that he’ll direct Cincinnati’s offense, leaving new offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to serve in a game-planning role. Taylor, for what it’s worth, doesn’t boast much play-calling experience: he led the Dolphins’ offense for a half-season in 2015, and coordinated the University of Cincinnati’s offense the following year. Under former coordinator Bill Lazor, the Bengals’ offense ranked 17th in scoring, 19th in DVOA, and 26th in yardage in 2018.

Here’s more from the Queen City:

Taylor will hire Texas A&M offensive line coach Jim Turner for the same role, reports Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Turner has worked with Taylor at three different stops, so there’s obvious familiarity between the two. He’d be replacing Frank Pollack, with whom the Bengals parted ways despite his excellent efforts in 2018. Turner, notably, was Miami’s offensive line coach during the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito bullying scandal, and was eventually fired in 2014 after an independent report indicated he participated in harassment of players. He was also suspended by Texas A&M in 2016 after using sexually-charged presentation slides during a women’s football clinic.
Former Texans tight end and current University of Houston tight ends coach James Casey will join the Bengals in the same role, while Ben Martin — who had recently been hired as an assistant offensive line coach at Brown — will take over as Cincinnati’s assistant OL coach, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Casey is only 34 years old, and was still playing as recently as 2015. He joined Houston as an offensive assistant in 2016 and became tight ends coach the following year. Martin, meanwhile, worked at Texas A&M with Taylor.
Among the Bengals coaches who are expected to be retained under Taylor are Alex Van Pelt (quarterbacks), Dan Pitcher (assistant quarterbacks), Bob Bicknell (wide receivers), Robert Livingston (secondary), Daronte Jones (secondary), and Brayden Coombs (assistant secondary), per Dehner. Coombs, notably, was thought to be a candidate for the Packers’ special teams coordinator position, but he’ll instead remain in Cincinnati.