Bengals Reportedly Giving 'Zero Thought' Toward One Future Path For Duke Tobin

Cincinnati seems unlikely to move on from Tobin this offseason.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cincinnati Bengals general manager Duke Tobin speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. assessed the futures of a couple of key Bengals figures this week: Zac Taylor and Duke Tobin.

The latter is seemingly locked in to stay in the same director of player personnel according to Dehner's writing.

"Yes, in most places, the de facto general manager of a team that missed the playoffs three consecutive years while employing Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins would be on the hot seat," Dehner wrote. "Specifically, when considering a bottom-quarter defense three years running, it was impacted by a debilitating series of roster-construction blunders. That’s just not the case here.

"There are cracks in the foundation, absolutely. There’s no way around the results and outrage currently directed at Tobin by the fan base. He’s never seen his role challenged or exposed to this level externally. Internally, however, it’s just not happening. Tobin is viewed as family in nearly the same regard as the actual Browns and Blackburns. There is zero thought that his job is in jeopardy. He will have to lead the Bengals out of this drought, and ownership trusts him to do so."

Cincinnati has struggled mightily in the draft under Tobin, and he's overseen rosters that have left the Bengals out of the playoffs in eight of the past 10 seasons, but loyalty appears ready to win out here.

Despite all that, and three consecutive years of missing the playoffs, Burrow still backed the leadership after Sunday's24-0 shutout loss to Baltimore.

“A lot of confidence,” Burrow said. “Because I know how hard people work at it. We’ve got the right people. It starts with players playing better, and today it was me.”

Sticking with this same brain trust is insanity when looking at NFL history. Scott Kacsmar wrote an article in 2017 for FivethirtyEight titled "Why Coaches And QBs Should Divorce After Five Years Of Not Winning" and was ironically centered around Marvin Lewis' Bengals tenure.

It clearly states that no HC-QB duo in NFL history has won its first Super Bowl after being together five-plus seasons. The article's nearly 10 years old, but the fact remains. Burrow and Taylor would have to overcome this historical figure after Jalen Hurts just won his first Super Bowl with Nick Sirianni in their fourth season together.

Alas, insanity and the Bengals are no strangers to one another.

Read Dehner's full piece here.

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