CINCINNATI \u2013 Now that the season is over and we are over 48 hours removed from a gut-punching end to a Bengals season filled with Super Bowl dreams, it\u2019s time to digest where the team goes from here. <\/p>\n
The Bengals have 43 players under contract, 12 players on future contracts and 19 free agents heading into the offseason. That\u2019s 74 player decisions and evaluations to be made. Draft picks, free agents and undrafted rookie free agents will bring that number close to 90 come training camp. Some have called this the most important offseason in Bengals history. That most certainly is not hyperbole. <\/p>\n
Between now and the first OTA in May there will be a seismic shift in the roster, with players signed in free agency, players leaving in free agency, players extended, players drafted, rookie undrafted free agents and likely, players released as part of cap considerations. <\/p>\n
But before all of that roster building, the Bengals will need to know who is coaching all of them. Zac Taylor, of course, will return for his fifth season after guiding the Bengals to back-to-back division titles for the first time in the 55-year history of the franchise. <\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s group came within some questionable officiating and some untimely mistakes from appearing in back-to-back Super Bowls. <\/p>\n
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan has drawn a second interview from the Indianapolis Colts for their head coaching vacancy. While the Arizona Cardinals have requested permission to interview both Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Darrin Simmons is projected to return for his 21st season with the Bengals, his 11th season as special teams coordinator and his fourth as assistant head coach. <\/p>\n
\u201cLou and Brian and Darrin, we\u2019ve had the same three coordinators since I\u2019ve been here, which is really rare,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s special, to be able to have that because we\u2019re a very tight-knit bunch. I think that communication process has been great between all of us, all the way down through the coaches. Excited that Brian and Lou are getting these opportunities again. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Brian\u2019s got two of them right now and Lou\u2019s got one of them. Certainly, hope that they get a chance to take advantage of those opportunities and become head coaches. And if they\u2019re back, that\u2019s great for me and all of us. That\u2019s part of being a successful team. People are going to come and want to talk to your coaches. And we\u2019ve got a lot of great coaches here that are more than capable. \u201c <\/p>\n
Taylor is already on record as saying those who don\u2019t leave for other opportunities will be welcomed back with his staff for 2023.<\/p>\n
The coaching staff is one of the genuine strengths of the program Taylor has built in Cincinnati. The Bengals are becoming a source of future NFL head coaching candidates, something that speaks to the remarkable turnaround of the last two seasons. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think those guys, they\u2019re really smart and they have no ego,\u201d Taylor continued. \u201cThat\u2019s a great starting point. I think they all have such tremendous experience behind them. You look at the places they\u2019ve been, the guys they\u2019ve coached, people they\u2019ve worked under, the games they\u2019ve been a part of. And we\u2019ve all grown together. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re allowed to improve. You\u2019re not the person you were 10 years ago, five years ago. You\u2019re allowed to improve. And I think everyone on our staff, the more we\u2019ve been together, we\u2019ve improved as a whole. And we\u2019re going to continue to improve as we move forward. We\u2019re not just going to be stagnant. I think that those guys all have a lot of potential, even going forward, if they were to leave and go somewhere else or stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here’s a breakdown of just some of the biggest decisions facing the Bengals this offseason:<\/p>\n
The single-biggest offseason assignment is getting the Joe Burrow contract extension worked out. He is going to certainly be worth more than the $230 million guaranteed that Deshaun Watson received in Cleveland. He is likely going to demand a deal in the vicinity of the 10-year, $450 million deal Patrick Mahomes received after the 2020 season, which included $141 million guaranteed. What will be interesting to find out is where the Bengals and Burrow\u2019s agent Brian Ayrault feel he falls in between those two deals, and what Lamar Jackson might receive in the interim. The Bengals would no doubt like to get Burrow\u2019s extension completed before Jackson signs and to have a cost certainty already established before the team heads into free agency to deal with their own and other team needs. <\/p>\n
\nZac Taylor on the future ahead with Joe Burrow #Bengals<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NZuxWLRVcN<\/a><\/p>\n
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n