The Cincinnati Bengals play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at 6:30 p.m. inside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. on Sunday.
It's the first time the Bengals have been in the Super Bowl since 1989 and it caps a three-year turnaround from 2-14 to 4-11-1 to 10-7 and AFC champions.
Zac Taylor, the 10th head coach in franchise history, hasn't made a changes at offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator since arriving in Cincinnati before the 2019 season. Which is a rarity considering the Bengals' 6-25-1 mark entering 2021.
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It's a lesson in stability in a league like the NFL where some coaches last less than a full season with their teams. Here's a look at the Bengals' 2021 coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan
The son of longtime NFL assistant and former Raiders head coach Bill Callahan, Brian Callahan has been the offensive coordinator since 2019.
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The Bengals went from 30th to 29th to 7th in points scored over his three seasons. He has emerged as a head coaching candidate this offseason.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo
No unit has improved more this season and few coordinators in the league would have made it to Year 3 after the 2019 and 2020 units performed like Anarumo did.
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The Bengals allowed 424 points in 2020 and 420 in 2019. In 2021, it was 376, or 17th in the league. Twice Anarumo's defenses limited the high-powered Chiefs in the second half of wins, including in the AFC Championship Game.
Anarumo interviewed for the New York Giants head coaching job in January.
Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons
Simmons arrived with Marvin Lewis and is in his 19th season as Bengals special teams coach. He was an assistant for the Ravens in 2000 and was a punter at Kansas in college.
Simmons is also the assistant head coach.
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Offensive coaching staff
Bengals quarterback coach Dan Pitcher
Pitcher is in his sixth season with Bengals and his second as quarterback coach. Prior to 2020 he was an assistant quarterback coach and before joining the Bengals was with the Colts.
Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack
A former San Francisco 49er lineman, Pollack is in his second stint with the Bengals. He was with Cincinnati in the 2018 season and Taylor brought him back before the 2021 season.
Bengals wide receiver coach Troy Walters
Walters joined the staff in 2020 and coaches a unit led by All-Pro Ja'Marr Chase and standouts Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
Walters was once the offensive coordinator at Nebraska, Zac Taylor's alma mater, and was a long time college receiver coach. He played in the NFL for eight seasons for the Colts, Cardinals and Lions in the 2000s.
Bengals running back coach Justin Hill
Hill joined the Bengals in 2021 and spent the prior six seasons in the same role for the University of Tulsa. Before that he was at Baylor. He played at Rice from 2007-2010.
Bengals tight end coach James Casey
Casey is an original member of Taylor's staff and before coming to Cincinnati was a coach at the University of Houston. Casey joined Houston's staff after a seven-year career with the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos from 2009 to 2015.
Other Bengals offensive coaches
- Brad Kragthorpe: assistant receivers coach
- Ben Martin: Assistant offensive line coach
Defensive coaching staff
Bengals linebacker coach Al Golden
One of the more high-profile coaches on staff, Golden is the former head coach of the Miami Hurricanes from 2011-2015. He also was the coach of Temple and before that was with Penn State.
Golden joined the Bengals staff in 2020 and before that was the tight end coach for the Detroit Lions.
Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby
This is Hobby's first season with the Bengals. He was with the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and 2020. Hobby was the defensive coordinator for Clemson from 2011-2016, where he coached D.J. Reader.
Bengals cornerback coach Steve Jackson
Jackson is in his first year with the Bengals. He has spent time with the New York Jets, Detroit Lions and coached for Washington from 2004-2011.
He played nine seasons in the NFL from 1991-1999, all for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans.
Bengals safeties coach Robert Livingston
Livingston was a Bengals scout and now is in his seventh season on the Bengals coaching staff. This is his sixth season coaching the secondary and fourth working with safeties.
Other Bengals defensive/ special teams coaches
- Mark Duffner: Senior defensive assistant
- Loui Cioffi: Defensive quality control
- Jordan Kovacs: Defensive quality control
- Colt Anderson: assistant special teams coach
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