One of the dominant themes that has come through Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s latest hiring process is the development of young players.
On Monday, Taylor completed his offseason coaching additions headlined by the college game’s hottest defensive coordinator in Al Golden, and the two new defensive assistants are long-time NFL position coaches who developed enough talent to stay nearly a decade with teams that made postseason runs.
Defensive line coach/run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery worked nine of the last 10 seasons with the Packers, and linebackers coach Mike Hodges is coming off an eight-year run with the Saints.
“To stay nine years with one position speaks volumes to me,” Golden said.
Last week, new offensive line coach Scott Peters, who served four years as the Browns assistant line coach before being the head man in New England last year, counts development as his strong suit.
All eyes are going to be on Golden as he inherits a defense teeming with early draft picks.
Since he left the Bengals to coach Note Dame after the Super Bowl season of 2021, the Bengals have drafted two first-round defenders (edge Myles Murphy and cornerback and Dax Hill), three second-rounders (cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner II and tackle Kris Jenkins Jr.) and two third-rounders (safety Jordan Battle and tackle McKinnley Jackson) who are still with the club.
“Making sure that each player knows the two or three things that they’ve got to get better at while we’re learning the systems and just really drilling down on that because everybody needs to improve,” Golden said. “Everybody, starting with me, as soon as they come back, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to make sure it’s a really tight package and make sure it’s condensed in terms of what they need to improve on and keep it small, keep it small, keep it small, refine it. Play fast, play with energy, and play together….
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