Bengals coaching news roundup: 2 more coaches may be added to staff

Give Marvin Lewis and the Bengals credit.

After a 12-4 season that had this Cincinnati squad looking a like a title contender, it would have been easy for the franchise to do its best to keep most of the coaching staff the same. Even after the Wild Card debacle, Lewis and owner Mike Brown could have stayed the course with the band of coaches and players they had this season (outside of a few expected promotions like those to Hue Jackson and Vance Joseph).

But that didn't happen. Wholesale changes were made, particularly on the defensive side of the ball where four position coaches left. Perhaps even more surprising was that only one in-house promotion was made as Ken Zampese was elevated from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.

This is a franchise that makes many of its main coaching changes through in-house hires. That's not been the case as much this year with more outside hires being made, including Jim Haslett, Bill Lazor and Jacob Burney. You could add Kevin Coyle to that, though he previously served in the same defensive backs role he's back in now.

Needless to say, Lewis and the Bengals haven't been afraid to bring more new voices to the table this year in hopes it will help this franchise find a way to get over the playoff hump and truly contend for a Super Bowl. Lazor especially was a home-run hire as he's had great success as a position coach, and it was good seeing Cincinnati actually go out and make a quality hire vs settling for someone already part of the organization.

There's also a report from Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson saying, "It’s believed that Lewis is on the verge of announcing new coaches for quality control on offense and an assistant in the secondary."

The secondary spot also sounds like it will be an outside hire with reports the Bengals have looked at Michigan defensive backs coach Greg Jackson and San Francisco 49ers defensive backs coach Tim Lewis. It looks like Cincy wants co-defensive backs coaches in the same way Joseph and Mark Carrier worked together the past two years while working with one of the NFL's best secondaries.

That could mean six new coaches would join the Bengals this offseason, an unprecedented number for a franchise that prides itself on familiarity and stability.

Here's what the Bengals coaching staff looks like as of now:

Head coach: Marvin Lewis

Offensive Coordinator: Ken Zampese (promoted)

Defensive Coordinator: Paul Guenther

Special Teams Coordinator: Darrin Simmons

Quarterbacks Coach: Bill Lazor (new)

Offensive Line Coach: Paul Alexander

Running Backs Coach: Kyle Caskey

Tight Ends Coach: Jonathan Hayes

Wide Receivers Coach: James Urban

Defensive Line Coach: Jacob Burney (new)

Secondary Coach: Kevin Coyle (new)

Linebackers coach: Jim Haslett (new)

Defensive Quality Control/ Special Teams Assistant: Robert Livingston

Assistant Linebackers/Quality Control: David Lippincott

Strength and Conditioning: Chip Morton

Assistant Special Teams/Quality Control: Brayden Coombs

Offensive Assistant/Quality Control: Brian Braswell

Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Jeff Friday

Defensive Assistant/Quality Control: Marcus Lewis