From Practice Squads to MMA to Cleveland and New England, Scott Peters' Journey Continues as Bengals O-Line Coach

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals hired Scott Peters as offensive line coach today, returning the 46-year-old to the AFC North.

“Scott is a great fit for our offense,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “He is passionate about the position and has done a great job of both developing young players and helping veteran players continue to grow. He is familiar with the AFC North and knows what it takes to win in our division. I am excited to have him on our staff.”

A fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002, Peters replaces Frank Pollack, who was one of seven coaches the Bengals fired the day after the season ended.

Peters was the assistant offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns, learning under Bill Callahan, who is widely regarded as the best active offensive line coach in the league and one of the best of all time.

"It's my favorite division in all the NFL with the competitive nature and the rivalries," Peters told the team’s website. "I'm excited to be here in Cincinnati and doing it again from a different perspective.

"There's good continuity in the division, so you know the opponents well,” he added. “There is familiarity with that and that's important."

After four seasons with the Browns, Peters left to become the offensive line coach of the New England Patriots in 2024.

But New England owner Robert Kraft’s quick trigger in firing Jerod Mayo, and his staff, after just one season made Peters available.

Peters spent seven seasons in the NFL, mostly on practice squads. He appeared in seven games for the Giants in 2003 and retired after the 2008 season.

But Peters didn’t go directly into coaching. At least not football coaching.

The Arizona native and Arizona State graduate returned to his home state and helped start the Lion’s Den MMA Academy in Scottsdale. Peters worked with some of the best fighters in the ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – including Brock Lesnar – while also competing and winning a pair of Brazilian jiu-Jitsu world championships.

"Scott is a hands expert," Callahan told Browns.com. "It's really unique in the sense that there aren't a lot of martial artists who can take that type of system into pro football. I think we're unique in that regard, and I think we're fortunate, as well, to have somebody like Scott who can bring a different perspective to line play because he has played offensive line, and he has studied all these different techniques and leverages when he was working as a (jiu-jitsu) wrestler."

Peters’ offensive line in New England ranked 31st in pass block win rate and 32nd in run block win rate, but outside of first-round guard Cole Strange, that unit was comprised mostly of Day 3 draft picks and undrafted guys.

Peters is just the Bengals’ fourth offensive line coach in the last 30 years, following Paul Alexander (1995-2017), Frank Pollack (2018, 2021-24) and Jim Turner (2019-20).

Former Bengals offensive line coach Jim McNally, who preceded Alexander from 1980-94, called Peters "a great coach" in a Twitter thread about his scheme following the Patriots' Week 1 upset of the Bengals.

THIS IS A MZONE NOT A WZONE. THE BSG+ T CAN DO THE SAME AS I SAID ON THE PREV VID. BLOCK THE BSG-T LIKE THE FS OF DUO. STUDY CLOSELY SO YOU DONT THINK IM CRAZY. TORQUE +HAMMER THE BST FOR THE CUT ALSO SCOTT PETERS IS A GREAT COACH. HE TOOK A REJECT AT LG AND MADE HIM GOOD. pic.twitter.com/I4EBLjb3pu
— Jim “Mouse” McNally (@CoachMcNallyOL) September 13, 2024

The Bengals also hired Michael McCarthy as the assistant offensive line coach, lending some continuity to a significant change.

McCarthy, 39, was an offensive assistant with Peters in New England last year.

He was an NFL assistant with the Browns (2015) and Detroit Lions (2016-17) before heading to the collegiate ranks at Rutgers in 2018. From 2019-23, he was the offensive line coach at Brown University.

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