Bengals hiring Jim Turner as OL coach, per Jimbo Fisher

The Bengals have hired their second offensive line coach in two years, and he’s Zac Taylor’s long-time associate Jim Turner. Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher confirmed the news on Wednesday that Turner was joining the Bengals.

Turner and Taylor have followed each other since Taylor entered the coaching scene in 2008 as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M. Turner was Texas A&M’s offensive line coach from 2008-2011, then left with Taylor and Mike Sherman for the Miami Dolphins in 2012. Turner only last through the 2013 season in Miami because of the first red flag associated to his name.

Due to his involvement in the Johnathan Martin-Richie Incognito fiasco, Turner was fired by the Dolphins in the 2014 offseason. Due to this badge of infamy, Turner couldn’t find work up until the 2016 when the University of Cincinnati attempted to hire him in 2016, when Taylor was hired to be the offensive coordinator. Turner backed out of the hiring to return to Texas A&M.

Before the 2016 season began, Turner was suspended by Texas A&M for inputting inappropriate and sexual jokes in a football clinic for women. He stayed on with the school and has been there ever since.

Not only does Turner bring extensive baggage with him to Cincinnati, his résumé on the football side of things is not impressive at all. When he was with the Dolphins, quarterback Ryan Tannehill was always under pressure and that unit never played cohesively.

At the college level, Turner was at Texas A&M when players such as Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi would eventually become first-round picks. It’s safe to say in 2019, only one of those players ended up being worth where they were selected.

In Taylor’s introductory press conference with the Bengals, here’s what he had to say about filling out the rest of his coaching staff:

“What we’re looking for are great teachers, concise communicators, outside-the-box thinkers, and people who are not afraid to deviate from the norm. We’re in the process of organizing a great coaching staff that you guys will be very proud of and the players are going to be excited to play for.”

You have to admit, Turner fits all the criteria Taylor described here, only for completely negative reasons.

Nevertheless, the Bengals’ ongoing struggle to put together a competent offensive line will now be lead by a former colleague of Taylor reunited, with Ben Martin joining them as the assistant coach to Turner.