The Bengals promoted Jordan Kovacs to secondary/safeties coach earlier this month.
The 33-year-old is hoping to get the most out of a young, but talented safety room led by Dax Hill and Jordan Battle.
Will the Bengals stick with the young guys or add a veteran on the back end? We'll get the answer to that question after free agency begins next month, but Kovacs did praise Hill when Dan Hoard asked about the 23-year-old on the Bengals Booth Podcast.
"Experience is the most important thing in anything, especially in the National Football League. He's been great. He's got the skillset," Kovacs said. "He can cover and that's not easy to come by for safeties. He's had high-highs. He's had some really good plays and I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you that there's a few plays that he'd like to have back, but that's what happens when you're a young safety. He's done a great job just trying to get a little better over the course of the season. I have high expectations for Dax and looking forward to working with him and expect him to make even bigger strides this year."
Hill finished with 110 tackles (six for loss), five quarterback hits, two interceptions and 1.5 sacks last season. Kovacs believes communication is crucial for Hill, Battle and the entire secondary.
"Anytime you're going from nickel to safety, there is a transition, there's a learning curve," Kovacs said. "Once you're on the backend of this thing, you're really the quarterback of the defense. I know he's continuing to learn and grow there and communication is one of the areas where we need to take a huge step forward. We're the quarterback, we're running the defense, we've gotta communication, make sure everybody's on the same page. I expect him to do a great job in that area."
Listen to Hoard's entire conversation with Kovacs below:
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