If you want to use a measurement of success for the Bengals in 2026, consider one that doesn’t pertain to wins and losses and how far they go in the playoffs. In addition to that, consider it from offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher’s perspective.
Pitcher is an up-and-coming head coaching candidate in the NFL. That means he may be a head coach as early as next year. If you’re a Bengals’ fan, yes, that would mean he wouldn’t be the Bengals’ offensive coordinator in 2027.
However, if Pitcher is going to
be an attractive head coaching candidate come mid-January, that’s a good thing. That probably means the Bengals’ offense would have been very good in the regular season.
Jourdan Rodrigue, who is a tremendous national NFL writer for The Athletic and a regular guest on the NFL Daily podcast with Gregg Rosenthal, recently named a breakout candidate on the coaching staffs of the 32 teams in the NFL.
For the Bengals, she mentioned Dan Pitcher.
“Pitcher has drawn interest from other teams for both head coach and offensive coordinator positions,” Rodrigue wrote. “With Cincinnati clearly swinging for the fences after an active offseason in hopes of maximizing quarterback Joe Burrow’s prime, Pitcher could receive an even larger spotlight. Senior writer Paul Dehner Jr. also mentioned tight ends coach and run game coordinator James Casey, who he says is ‘beloved’ in the building and has a big role in setting up the run-pass marriage for the rest of the offense.”
Here’s another thing that interests me. If the Bengals’ offense is great this season, Pitcher isn’t going to just get interviews from teams that are desperate, a la Cleveland and Las Vegas. He’s going to attract interviews from teams that actually need head coaches and recognize what Pitcher has done with Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense.
There’s a real chance Pitcher may not be on the Bengals’ coaching staff in 2027. That might not sit well with Bengals fans, but it would be a product of the Bengals being really good on offense this season, and that would probably result in a postseason berth.
If Pitcher is also getting interviews for head coaching jobs while the Bengals are in a playoff run, that would be a good thing.
