Bengals QBS coach Pitcher is much in demand

Dan Pitcher has been the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterbacks coach since January 2020, several weeks before before the team selected Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Pitcher has been an offensive assistant for Cincinnati since 2016. He was assistant QBS coach when he replaced Alex Van Pelt as QBS coach in 2020.

Many have suggested that Pitcher could take over as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator if current offensive coordinator Brian Callahan gets one of the headcoaching positions for which he’s interviewed.

But other teams may pursue Pitcher, 37, in the meantime. The New Orleans Saints are interviewing Pitcher for their coordinator’s job, according to a report.

Burrow would hate to see him go.

“We mesh so well in the meeting room and on the sideline,” Burrow said. “We have a great working relationship. I say this all the time, but I couldn’t ask for a better group of coaches for my skill set and what I do.”

“He’s such a critical part of third downs,” added coach Zac Taylor said of Pitcher. “He plays an integral part in that, and he has gotten two quarterbacks ready to win games for us.”

Jake Browning, Cincinnati’s backup quarterback, stepped in after Burrow injured his wrist last season and threw for a total of 1,936 yards with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, keeping the Bengals in the playoff race longer than most expected once the team’s franchise quarterback went down.

This is not the first time teams have approached Pitcher, and the Bengals gave him what NFL Network described as a “lucrative contract extension” last January.

Before being given that extension, Pitcher received inquiries from the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.