Patriots Interviewing Bengals QB Coach
FOXBORO — Fenway Park may not be the only New England area sports field to have a "Pitcher" get the ball in 2024.
Having already scheduled interviews with Los Angeles Rams coaches Nick Caley and Zac Robinson for their vacant offensive coordinator position, the New England Patriots are reportedly set to meet with Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher via video conference on Tuesday.
New England is actively searching for a candidate to replace former coordinator Bill O’Brien — who was recently named to the same position at Ohio State University.
"The Bengals have an in-house replacement for Callahan as OC in QBs coach Dan Pitcher, but he has a full docket of OC interviews this week," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport posted. "Sources say he has a Zoom with the Patriots tomorrow, then flies to Las Vegas for the Raiders at night. He has the Saints on Thursday."
Pitcher, an assistant with the Bengals since 2016, has emerged as a hot coaching commodity in recent months. Working first with Cincinnati's wide receivers, the 37-year-old was officially named quarterbacks coach in 2020, when the Bengals selected Joe Burrow first overall. Pitcher's exemplary work with Burrow earned him a lucrative contract extension last offseason to remain with the club. Pitcher was also instrumental in the development of Bengals' backup quarterback Jake Browning, who started seven games for the club after Burrow's season-ending injury.
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New England is not the only team interested in Pitcher's services. The SUNY Cortland product not only has interviews scheduled with the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders later this week, he is also likely to be heavily enticed to stay with Cincinnati — especially after offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was named the Tennessee Titans head coach Monday night.
Wherever he may land, the fortunate suitor will be inheriting a coach who has become quite proficient in game planning, third-down strategy and running a west-coast style offense, predicated on the incorporation of outside zone alongside a versatile quarterback.