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The Cincinnati Bengals have won out in the Teryl Austin sweepstakes.
According to ESPN reporter Josina Anderson, Austin has accepted the Bengals’ offer to become their new defensive coordinator. The team has since announced the official hire.
“I am excited to add Teryl to our coaching staff as defensive coordinator,” said head coach Marvin Lewis in a press release. “He is a bright and aggressive coach with a wealth of experience. I look forward to working alongside him to take full advantage of our talented defensive personnel.”
Austin was reportedly weighing offers from the Bengals and Oakland Raiders. The latter was offering him a job as a secondary and assistant head coach. That’s nice, but Austin will instead choose to run the Bengals’ defense after a promising four-year stint with the Detroit Lions.
“It’s an honor to join the Bengals organization,” said Austin. “I look forward to leading an aggressive group of young men and helping them and the team achieve our goals.”
Austin also had a recent coaching stint with the Baltimore Ravens as their secondary coach from 2011-13, so Marvin Lewis and the Bengals have some familiarity with him. That came after Austin was defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators in 2010.
Prior to that, Austin joined the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff as their defensive backs coach from 2007-09. In 2009, he helped the team reach Super Bowl XLIII, where they would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Teryl Austin is one of the best people I've had the pleasure of covering with the Lions. Great people person, honest, interesting & accountable. Results might not have always been there, but he remained constant in his expectations and approach, despite shortcomings in personnel. https://t.co/aYsdHT9PXW
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) January 8, 2018
Austin’s college coaching career dates back to his days as a graduate assistant at Penn State from 1991-92. He has held positions as defensive backs coach at Michigan (1999-2002) and Syracuse (1996-98) and Wake Forest (1993-95).
For what it’s worth, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller says there were rumors of Austin getting a head-coach-in-waiting title, but that’s just rumor at this point. austin has been getting a lot of head-coaching interviews in recent years, so if nothing else, he’ll be someone to watch for as the Bengals’ next head coach if Marvin Lewis leaves in the coming years.