Former Bengals player claims Zac Taylor nearly gave in to his biggest criticism

As quickly as the Cincinnati Bengals moved on at offensive coordinator from Brian Callahan to Dan Pitcher, they would've very much liked to keep the coaching staff the same.

Callahan had been with the franchise since Zac Taylor took over in 2019. He was the first coach Taylor reportedly hired before either decision could be officially announced.

How much was Taylor willing to do to keep Callahan around? Former player and current radio analyst Dave Lapham heard quite a bit.

Lapham told Lance McAlister of 700WLW last week that a possibility of Taylor handing over play-calling duties to Callahan existed had Callahan stuck around and not taken the head coaching gig with the Tennessee Titans. 

"I heard that Zac Taylor was considering giving up the play calling role to Brian Callahan next season," Lapham told Lance McAlister on 700 WLW. "That changed when Brian Callahan moved on."

Instead of calling plays for the Bengals, Callahan will be calling plays for the Titans as well as all the other responsibilities that come with being a head coach. He's watched Taylor handle it all in Cincinnati for five years.

Many fans and analysts have pondered if Taylor should've delegated play-calling to Callahan at some point over the last two years, taking a big task off his plate and allowing him to focus more on game management tasks while giving an astute mind for the game in Callahan a chance to shine.

If that could've happened with Callahan, it could ultimately happen with Pitcher, who was in high demand around the league to call plays as an OC. But don't get your hopes up that switch taking place this year.

"Now do I think Dan Pitcher is going to call plays out of the gate like that with with Zac? I'm not sure about that," Lapham said. "Zac may decide to continue to call plays and see how Dan develops and how he feels about passing that baton on to Dan Pitcher."  

Pitcher replacing Callahan at OC looks great on paper, but to quote the 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer: "Theory will only take you so far." Pitcher will first have to adeptly fill Callahan's shoes before taking on a responsibility never given to Callahan. 

Should things go well and Pitcher becomes a popular head coaching candidate in the future, Taylor may decide to do what he didn't do with Pitcher's predecessor.