Bengals News (1/3): A young offensive minded coach can lead to issues

Hobson's Choice: Search For Tomorrow
Sounds to me like they’ve got everything on the table, and are talking to some defensive guys, internal guys and recycled guys. I know this. They'll be thorough. Before they hired defensive coordinators Dick LeBeau and Marvin Lewis, their history had been going with offense and youth after a stretch of losing. Which is ironic because LeBeau was the oldest first-time head coach in history.

Bengals Sign Andrew Brown To Reserve/Future List
Brown, a 2018 Bengals fifth-round draft pick, spent the team’s first 10 games on the Practice Squad before suffering a hand injury in practice and spending the final six games on the Practice Squad/Injured list. He will not count on the team’s active list until Feb. 4, the Monday after the Super Bowl.

Hue Jackson set to interview for Bengals coaching job
Jackson, who joined Lewis' staff in Cincinnati as a special assistant after being fired by the Cleveland Browns in October, is expected to interview for the Bengals' head coaching vacancy, a source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. The interview could come as early as Wednesday, Rapoport added.

Risk involved in Cincinnati Bengals coaching search
Reports indicate Chiefs OC Bieniemy, former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, Rams QB coach Taylor, Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron and Patriots OC Josh McDaniels have all received requests for interviews. In-house candidates Darrin Simmons (special teams) and Bill Lazor (offensive coordinator) went through their interviews on Tuesday. Hue Jackson hasn’t interviewed yet, but that day is imminent.

Bengals target Eric Bieniemy completes interviews with Jets, Bucs
Bieniemy will interview with four teams after turning down the Arizona Cardinals. Wednesday, he went through the paces with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Twitter had plenty of jokes about the Bengals interviewing Hue Jackson
Hue Jackson was fired by Cleveland midway through the 2018 season after going a historically bad 3-36-1 during his time as head coach of the Browns.

NFL Coaching Rumors: Jets, Bucs to interview Chiefs' Eric Bienemy
As it stands now, the Browns, Cardinals, Packers, Bengals, Buccaneers, Broncos, Dolphins and Jets will be looking for new head coaches for 2019. The scouting combine is less than two months away and teams will look to hire coaches in time to prepare for their respective offseason decisions.

Bengals' seven best candidates to replace Marvin Lewis as head coach
Lewis helped bring the franchise up from the cellar in the AFC and finished with a 131-122-3 record, but that included a 0-7 record in the postseason. After three straight losing seasons, the Bengals are moving on from their longtime coach.

Random Bytes

Mike Tomlin: Antonio Brown Hasn't Requested Trade, Steelers Will Handle Absence
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday a "lack of communication" was central to wide receiver Antonio Brown missing the team's Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and confirmed there's been no formal trade request by the NFL's two-time receiving yards leader.

Super Bowl 53 MVP Odds: Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes Favorites Before Playoffs
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is the favorite to win the Super Bowl 53 MVP award, but Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes is hot on his heels.

Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Is the Rooney Rule Broken?
The Raiders' hiring on Monday of former NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock to become the team's general manager is an perfect example of the Rooney Rule in action—its strengths, its weaknesses and how teams can circumvent it if they want to.

Giants' Dave Gettleman on Odell Beckham Jr.: 'We Didn't Sign Him to Trade Him'
While the Giants had another poor year, going 5-11 after 2017's 3-13 disaster, Beckham was solid. The 26-year-old rebounded from his injury-shortened 2017, catching 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six scores in 12 games, though a quad injury did keep him out of action late in the year.