As the 28 eliminated NFL teams approach the 2026 offseason, the amount of changes at head coach, along with offensive and defensive coordinators, is staggering. There have been 10 total head coaches announced that won’t be returning to their respective teams, which ties an NFL record for one season. 

As the Cincinnati Bengals have announced they will not be firing head coach Zac Taylor, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher was granted permission by Taylor to interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator position. Pitcher has been the offensive coordinator for Cincinnati for just two seasons, both of which the Bengals failed to make the playoffs. 

Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and head coach Zac Taylor | © Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers announced news regarding their open offensive coordinator position Thursday morning. 

ESPN Senior Insider Adam Schefter announced that the Buccaneers are finalizing a deal to acquire the offensive coordinator from the Atlanta Falcons, Zac Robinson, for their open offensive coordinator position. 

While the closing of one job doesn’t mean that Pitcher is set in stone to stay with Cincinnati, this was the only job known to the public that he was interviewing for. Last season was Pitcher’s 10th with the Bengals, and it appears that he will be returning for an 11th. 

Although he has spent a decade with the franchise, Pitcher has continuously moved up in position throughout his time. He began working as a wide receiver coach, then quarterback coach, and later transitioned into leading the game clock management in 2019 when Taylor took over playcalling duties. Pitcher continued working with Burrow and the other quarterbacks until he became the offensive coordinator in 2024.

It’s obvious that throughout his Bengals’ tenure, Pitcher has proven himself to be ready for a larger role year in and year out. While he may technically have the same position he applied for, in order for him to become a head coach in the NFL, if that is his ultimate goal, he would need to be a primary play caller for an offensive unit. Taylor is on record for saying that he would continue to call plays despite the three-year playoff drought, and in Tampa Bay, Pitcher would have been granted that duty if he were hired. 

Ultimately, it is a great thing to maintain continuity throughout the Cincinnati franchise for this season. It’s become well-known that this will be the last year of the Bengals experimenting with this core, so if they fail to make the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, major changes will be made from top to bottom.