The Cincinnati Bengals famously elected to keep defensive backs coach Vance Joseph, who had become a favorite as Gary Kubiak's defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. Joseph was an assistant under Kubiak in Houston for three seasons before Kubiak was fired and most of his assistant coaches released. Cincinnati signed him last year.
But, the Broncos weren't the only team that were rejected.
According to Matt Barrows with the Sacramento Bee, the Bengals didn't allow the San Francisco 49ers to interview Joseph this week.
Meanwhile, the 49ers also have been denied a meeting with Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph, a league source said. Both the 49ers and Broncos are eyeing Joseph for the role of defensive coordinator. Joseph, 42, got his NFL coaching start with the 49ers in 2005, and he coached alongside Jim Tomsula for four seasons.
(We wonder what Mike Klis' perspective is on this)
"It’s ultimately the owner’s call. My call is he can ask me my recommendation of what can occur but he has the final say-so of what opportunities are made available," Head Coach Marvin Lewis told reporters in Mobile, Alabama earlier this week. "It is a hard thing because you constantly want to have the best people at their jobs all the time; you want them to have opportunity to move upward in coaching. It’s a hard balance….This was a hard one. Vance is a very good coach, a young guy, he’s going to have lots of opportunities, but they are all hard."
There are several reasons for the Bengals to reject another team's interest in Joseph:
1) Joseph is viewed as a prodigy within the coaching ranks. Why would you let someone with that description go?
2) Like the Broncos, the Bengals are scheduled to play the San Francisco 49ers during the regular season. It doesn't make sense to give your opponent their defensive coordinator... who is, again, an up-and-coming prodigy.
3) The Bengals have plans for Joseph.
In the past week we've heard Marvin Lewis tell reporters that Mike Brown is "leading the charge" for significant change. Here's a team with an aging owner who is approaching a do-whatever-it-takes mentality to win. Why would you agree to a move that would decline your coaching staff? You're here to win games, not popularity contests.