:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58245741/usa_today_9527075.0.jpg)
The Cincinnati Bengals will have competition for Teryl Austin.
On Sunday, reports surfaced that Cincinnati was close to hiring Austin to be the team’s next defensive coordinator.
However, the Oakland Raiders are now making a push to hire Austin as their defensive backs coach and assistant head coach, according to Ian Rapoport.
#Lions DC Teryl Austin's situation just got interesting: As he negotiates a deal with the #Bengals, the #Raiders are making a push to hire him & give him an assistant head coach title to coach DBs. Oakland hoping for an uber staff for Jon Gruden.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2018
While that’s a pretty lofty title, Austin would still be in a non-coordinator role, so it’s hard to say it’s as good as being able to run the defense in Cincinnati. If nothing else, this may come down to money and how much the Bengals are willing to pay him compared to Oakland.
Austin has an extensive career coaching NFL secondaries, so of course, teams like Oakland would love to hire him in that role. However, Austin has been a defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions since 2014, so he probably wants to keep running some team’s defense.
Ironically, Oakland is hiring former Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther into that same role, so they could also end up hiring the man Cincinnati hoped to replace Guenther with.