Teryl Austin is Vontaze Burfict's next defensive coordinator.
A coaching re-set as head coach Marvin Lewis spent the weekend continuing the biggest overhaul of his staff in his 16 seasons:
The Bengals announced Monday that Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has taken the same job, which means all three coordinators are in place six days after head coach Marvin Lewis' Jan. 2 contract extension. That is significant because while there are some holdovers from Paul Guenther's staff, the new defensive coordinator is looking at filling most of the positions. It's also a huge hire because Guenther and predecessor Mike Zimmer have used the same system since 2008 and Austin has to figure out how much he'll use from that system and his own. Austin ran a 4-3 in Detroit for the past four seasons and the Bengals know him well because of the job he did coaching the secondary of the division rival Ravens from 2011-2013 during a stretch it led the NFL in passes defensed. Austin, who has coached on three Super Bowl teams, won it with the 2012 Ravens.
"I am excited to add Teryl to our coaching staff as defensive coordinator," said head coach Marvin Lewis in a news 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."
Prior to the Lions, Austin spent 10 seasons as a defensive backs coach in the NFL, including stints with the Seattle Seahawks (2003-06), Arizona Cardinals (2007-09) and the Ravens. In each of those three stops, he helped his teams get to Super Bowl appearances.
"It's an honor to join the Bengals organization," said Austin in the release. "I look forward to leading an aggressive group of young men and helping them and the team achieve our goals."
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, in his first full season, is looking to fill vacancies left by himself at quarterbacks and Paul Alexander on the offensive line. The Bengals on Monday announced the hiring of Bob Bicknell, the wide receivers coach Lazor worked with in Philadelphia as the quarterbacks coach in 2013 under head coach Chip Kelly.
Bicknell has coached receivers for five seasons at three different clubs before he landed at Baylor this season after Kelly got let go in San Francisco. Bicknell, 48, has coached in the league for 10 years as also an offensive line and tight ends coach
Indications are the Bengals are talking to both college and NFL offensive line coaches and one of the options is to bring back consultant Jim McNally to help out on the field. McNally, 74, coached one of the NFL's greatest lines in history during his stint from 1980-94, when he was Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Munoz's only position coach and the Bengals led the NFL in rushing three times in the late 1980s.
Lazor is charged with fixing the NFL's last-ranked offense that generated the worst rushing numbers in the history of the franchise.
