Bengals set to interview two candidates for DC opening

The Bengals, who entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, narrowly missed out on a playoff berth when they fired longtime defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on Black Monday. They are now quickly conducting a replacement search.

Cincinnati is looking to two candidates who came off worse seasons in eyeing the Las Vegas and New England staffs. Raiders DC Patrick Graham and Patriots DC DeMarcus Covington received interview slips from the Bengals, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, and both candidates intend to interview.

Graham is set to meet about the position on Tuesday, while Pelissero notes that Covington’s meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. Teams can block coordinator lateral moves if they do not involve a non-play-calling coordinator receiving that chance elsewhere. Still, both Graham and Covington are no longer under contract, which makes each free to interview.

The Patriots made a quick change, firing Jerod Mayo after previously promoting him without conducting a search. With Mayo having promoted Covington from D-line coach, this leaves the 2024 Pats DC on shaky ground. Featuring this century’s most dependable NFL unit (on the whole) during Bill Belichick‘s 24-year run in charge, New England’s defense dropped to 22nd in scoring and yardage under Covington. This came despite Christian Gonzalez‘s return to full strength. However, the Patriots traded Matt Judon just before the season.

After the Raiders snapped a streak of finishing outside the NFL’s top half in scoring defense for more than 20 years — via the Graham-led unit’s ninth-place result in 2023 — the team closed in the 25th spot this season. That said, Las Vegas’ offense did not give Graham too much to work with; the Raiders ranked 15th in total defense for the second straight year.

Graham, 45, has much more experience — as he has been the DC with the Giants and Dolphins — and is on the Jaguars’ HC interview list. Both Graham and Covington, 35, are ex-Belichick assistants, though they did not overlap in New England. The Bengals will see what each brings to the table soon.