Zac Taylor Gives Details on His Process For Hiring Assistant Coaches

CINCINNATI — Zac Taylor graced the podium with new Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden on Monday. He gave some new knowledge into Cincinnati's process for hiring new assistant coaches on his staff.

Golden was the man for the job after a weeks-long search.

"There was other guys I talked to and get great experience from that," Taylor said about the process. "Look at (new Bengals D-line coach) Jerry Montgomery. Jerry Montgomery is a guy I've had on my list since we played the Packers in 2018 when I was at the Rams, and you got to look up who's the D-line coach. And that's when Jerry's name came to my radar.

"And so just as I went through the interview process of coordinators, I also, at the same time was talking to some of these position assistants before they took jobs elsewhere. And then when Al's accepted the job last Wednesday, as we talked and felt like it was the right decision for both of us, we immediately get on the phone to Jerry and make sure Al and Jerry could connect as well and that Al sees it the same way I do. So, there were a lot of good things that you have to do in between a lot of phone calls you get to make to a lot of different position guys. And so we got a chance to use all that time and then when Al became available, we made sure we talked and it was right fit for us."

This is the first time in Taylor's tenure that he's had to change a coordinator on his own accord, and hire a new staff around that defensive hierarchy.

In the end, Taylor went with a familiar voice, but also one he's confident can help bring a Lombardi Trophy to Cincinnati.

"Familiarity and best people for the job," Taylor said about multiple factors that go into hiring. "I want to hire the people that are going to help us win championships. And so I think that we've done an excellent job of hiring coordinators, position coaches, quality controls, and we don't take those hires lightly. We spend a lot of time on them. We want to hire a quality control that we envision becoming a position coach, and a position coach that we envision becoming a coordinator, and a coordinator you envision becoming a head coach and helping you win championships along the way.

"So there's a lot of time and effort put into that, and so we're always in a position to maybe bring somebody back or promote from within. And it always means because we felt like that was the best person for the job, and I got a chance to interview some people that make it hard, they're outstanding football coaches, just felt right now for us Al is the best guy for the job and (Dan) Pitch(er) was the best guy for the job last year, and excited about both."

A little more than a month remains until the start of free agency in March for Cincinnati and the rest of the NFL.

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