Bengals to interview Rams assistant Aubrey Pleasant for DC spot, per report

The Bengals hired a head coach to emulate the Rams’ offense. Now they want to emulate their defense too.

Aubrey Pleasant, the Rams’ cornerbacks coach of the last two seasons, was requested by the Bengals to be interviewed for their defensive coordinator spot. It appears their request was accepted by the Rams.

Pleasant will interview with Cincinnati later this week, per Gary Klein of the LA Times.

Since Taylor was officially introduced as the Bengals’ head coach, two of his candidates, Jack Del Rio and Dom Capers, have declined the defensive coordinator job. Pleasant seems to be the favorite for the gig considering his connection to Taylor’s former team.

After Pleasant interviews with the team, it was reported that Taylor has his eyes on a few other candidates as well. Texas A&M and Florida defensive coordinators Mike Elko and Todd Grantham are reported to receive interview requests, along with ex-Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel and Saints’ defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.

Pleasant has been with the Rams for as little time as Taylor. He’s been just as crucial of an assistant to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips as Taylor was for head coach Sean McVay. He’s also quite the energizer:

We’ll see if Pleasant impresses Taylor and the Bengals’ organization enough to reunite him with Taylor in Cincinnati.