In the last two years of the late Sam Wyche's run as the Bengals head coach who altered the game with his no huddle offense, he didn't have a titled offensive coordinator after Bruce Coslet became head coach of the Jets.
Instead, Wyche called the collaboration of his position coaches something like an explosion of ideas, and that's a good way to describe how the Bengals tweaked their running game this spring under offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and his NFL top-ranked passing game.
After offensive line coach Frank Pollack's departure following last season, head coach Zac Taylor opted not to assign anyone the run coordinator job. Like Wyche, Taylor turned to an experienced group of position coaches to team up, such as wide receivers coach Troy Walters, once a finalist for the nation's top award for assistant coaches when he was the offensive coordinator at Central Florida.
James Casey, Taylor's only tight end coach here in his seven seasons, was an NFL tight end for seven years. Running backs coach Justin Hill is in his fifth year and has three 1,300-yard touch seasons from Joe Mixon and Chase Brown. Offensive line coach Scott Peters is a disciple of O-line gurus Jim McNally and Bill Callahan. Pass game coordinator Justin Rascati has worked with NFL offensive lines and quarterbacks.
"That's been the overarching thing of the entire offseason. It's a collaborative effort," Hill says. "Everyone has a chance to give input in every aspect. Whether it's in the run game or pass game.
"We've all got experience in different areas. It's great because we have conversations about not just the run game, but every aspect of the offense. Tempo. The way we call things. The way we label things. It gives everybody a chance to have ownership, as well as get people out of their comfort zones. It's not just myself, James, and Scott learning from each other. But also getting myself out of my comfort zone and get more involved in the pass game."
Taylor, like Wyche, calls his own plays. Like Wyche, Taylor likes to use the word "evolve," when it comes to his system, and he did when talking about the run game Thursday at the end of mandatory minicamp.
"Where our offense is at and who are our weapons. How you utilize the pass game needs to be balanced, and the run game needs to look very similar to the defense. That's a constant evolution for us in the run game," Taylor said. "It's not just myself, Pitch, Scott, it's the whole offensive staff. Justin Hill and James Casey, I have tremendous respect for their knowledge of the run game. They've been here a long time, and they have a huge role.
"Justin Rascati, I have tremendous respect for him and his role in the run game. Troy Walters as well. All of these guys play a big part in that. Pitch has done a great job delegating responsibilities to these guys, and that will continue to happen in training camp."
Chase Brown, heading into his first year teamed with Samaje Perine in the backfield, has also evolved and is clearly not the same player he was last Opening Day before turning into one of the most productive backs in the league.