The Browns have requested to interview Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher for the head coaching vacancy, Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports.
Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde are also interviewing.
The Browns hired head coach Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 5.
Pitcher has served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator the past two seasons. It is his first coordinator job.
He began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant with the Bengals in 2016, earned a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019 and quarterbacks coach in 2020.
Pitcher was a scout for the Colts for four seasons before joining the Cincinnati coaching staff.
With six vacancies (other than the Ravens) and seven teams calling former Ravens coach John Harbaugh after his dismissal on Tuesday, at least one team without a vacancy made the call.
So which team(s) called? (It’s possible that more than one team without an opening called, if at least one of the teams currently looking for a coach did not.)
Here’s a look at the possibilities. And don’t blame us for doing it; Harbaugh’s agent lit the fuse by disclosing that seven teams called.
Jets: By all appearances, first-year coach Aaron Glenn lost the locker room. The final five games, with a minus-137 point differential (27.4 per game), was arguably the worst stretch ever for a franchise with plenty of rough spots. Still, owner Woody Johnson has shown no inclination to fire Glenn — and to owe him more than $40 million to not coach the team.
Dolphins: Michigan man Stephen Ross once pursued Michigan man Jim Harbaugh while the Dolphins still had a coach under contract. Why wouldn’t Ross make the call about Harbaugh’s brother, given the currently tenuous status of Mike McDaniel?
Bills: What if the Bills lose this weekend? Is it crazy to think the Bills would consider making a change? That said, swapping out one coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent for another coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent seems odd.
Steelers: If the team thinks Mike Tomlin, who seems to have a TV offer in his back pocket, could be leaving after the playoff run ends, it needs to be thinking about the next coach. Why not Harbaugh?
Bengals: There’s no way Mike Brown will finance Zac Taylor’s buyout and pay whatever it would take to get Harbaugh.
Colts: Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has said Shane Steichen will be back. Could she view Harbaugh as an upgrade who may not be available if a change is made in 2027?
Chiefs: Andy Reid will be back for 2026. The phone call (if it happened) may have been as simple as, “Keep us in mind if you’re thinking about taking a year off and returning in 2027.”
Cowboys: See the Chiefs.
Commanders: Dan Quinn’s team badly regressed in 2025. Why wouldn’t owner Josh Harris at least consider the possibility of an upgrade to Harbaugh?
Packers: New team president Ed Policy made it clear in June that it’s an up-or-out year for coach Matt LaFleur and G.M. Brian Gutekunst. Could Policy have wanted to let Harlan (the son of former Packers CEO Bob Harlan) know that there may be a reason to let the wild-card round play out before making any decisions?
Buccaneers: There’s a vague sense still lingering that ownership could make a coaching change. Harbaugh’s availability could be the thing that pushes the Bucs off the fence.
At least one of those teams made the call. Maybe more than one. And if one of those teams fires its head coach in the coming days, it could be the first step toward hiring John Harbaugh.
Former Bengals wide receiver Jordan Shipley is hospitalized in Austin, Texas after an accident on his ranch.
In a statement released through the University of Texas, Shipley’s family said he was working on a machine that caught fire and caused “severe burns” to Shipley’s body. Shipley was taken to a local hospital and then flown to Austin for further treatment.
Shipley was in critical but stable condition at the time the statement was released on Tuesday night.
Shipley was a two-time All-American at Texas and is the school’s all-time leader in receptions. He was a Bengals third-round pick in 2010 and played in 17 games over two seasons with the team. He also played for the Buccaneers and Jaguars in 2012.
Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is kicking off the offseason by spending five days in jail.
Taylor-Britt was sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of reckless driving and driving without a valid license in court on Tuesday and he was taken straight to Hamilton County Jail to serve his sentence. Taylor-Britt originally faced five charges stemming from separate incidents in June and September.
An attorney for Taylor-Britt asked the court to sentence his client to community service, but the judge called the five-day sentence “generous.”
“That’s a gift,” the judge said, via Chelsea Sick of WKRC. “Five days instead of 30. He’s got to do them now.”
When contacted by WKRC, the NFL said it is aware of the matter but declined further comment about potential discipline.
Taylor-Britt appeared in eight games for the Bengals before a November foot injury ended his season. The 2025 season was the final one on his rookie deal with the Bengals, so Taylor-Britt could move on as a free agent this offseason.
Quarterback Joe Burrows knows changes need to be made in Cincinnati. None of those changes will include the 2025 coaches.
Coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Monday that he plans to make no changes to the staff.
Those assistants ultimately may be insulated by the same thing that has gotten Taylor another year, despite only two playoff appearances in seven years and three straight years of no postseason berths. The money.
For the Bengals, it’s always about the money. Football is business. They only say “football is family” because it’s good for business to say “football is family.” They don’t want the fans to see it like the black ink/red ink reality that it is. They want the fans to think they’re trying to win the Super Bowl, every year.
That’s not just the Bengals. For all teams, it’s about making as much money as possible. And part of the effort to maximize profits is to get fans to show up for games and buy overpriced stuff. Acting like they desperately want to hoist a Lombardi Trophy is simply part of the grift.
With 32 teams, any owner who hinges their happiness on winning a championship is setting themselves up for likely failure. Even with a quality team, there are too many factors beyond anyone’s control. It all comes down to weather or bad calls (which for the other team are good calls) or the unpredictable bounces of an oblong leather ball.
One team gets to have a parade every year. All teams get to perform an annual goose step to the bank.
For the Bengals, who aren’t operated by a multi-billionaires who can treat the football teams as a write-off or a vanity project, the football business is ownership’s only business. If they fire a coach and owe him money, the buyout comes straight from the profit margin. Thus, above any other factors, owing Taylor seven or eight figures is enough to justify running it back.
Ditto for members of the coaching staff to whom the Bengals have ongoing financial obligations. Firing a coach and hiring an assistant means paying for two coaches instead of one.
Burrow, like any other player, doesn’t care about that. And as he enters his seventh NFL season, he’s one away from the number of years it took Carson Palmer to realize that the Bengals prioritize making money over winning championships.
As long as the fans keep falling for it, nothing will change.
There will not be a coaching change in Cincinnati.
Bengals owner Mike Brown announced on Monday morning that Zac Taylor will remain the team’s head coach despite a third straight season without a playoff berth. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin will also remain with the team.
“Our focus is on building a team that can consistently compete at the highest level, with the goal of winning championships,” Brown said in a statement. “After thoughtful consideration, I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward. They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success.”
Taylor is 52-63-1 in seven seasons as the head coach of the Bengals. The team has made the playoffs twice since he was hired and they advanced to the AFC title game both times. They went to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season and lost to the Rams before losing to the Chiefs in the conference championship the next year.
Zac Taylor was unhappy that Myles Garrett broke the NFL’s single-season sacks record against his team. The Bengals head coach appeared more upset that officials briefly paused the game to allow the Browns pass rusher and his teammates celebrate his 23rd sack of the season.
“There’s five minutes left in our season,” Taylor said, via Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. “We’re playing for our lives here. I was never told that we’re going to stop the game. In a critical moment like that, the refs just said that they made a decision that they were going to stop the game. They said they tried to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that.”
The Bengals trailed 17-12 with 5:16 remaining when Garrett got around left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to get to Joe Burrow for a 5-yard loss. The Browns were celebrating with Garrett as the Bengals tried to run hurry-up, potentially to try to prevent exactly what happened.
“We didn’t sub,” Taylor said. “We’re trying to be on the ball and go and play with tempo. The umpire just held the ball, so that we couldn’t do anything. And I’m yelling at Joe, ‘Get on the ball.’ . . . And so again, trying to get an answer was not easy. They just said that they made a decision as a crew to stop the game when that happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened.”
Taylor reiterated that officials did not inform him in their pre-game meeting that they would pause the game if Garrett got the record.
The Bengals did take the lead on their next possession but lost on Andre Szmyt’s 49-yard field goal as time expired.
Neither team had anything at stake in the game, with both teams long ago eliminated from postseason contention.
If that’s the end for head coach Kevin Stefanski, his team went out with a bang.
On the day star edge rusher Myles Garrett broke the single-season sack record, the Browns were able to engineer a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter to defeat the Bengals 20-18 to close the 2025 season.
After missing an extra point and a field goal late in the 17-16 Week 1 loss to the Bengals, Browns kicker Andre Szmyt connected on a 49-yard walk-off field goal to win the game.
The Browns had a pair of first-half defensive touchdowns to build a 14-6 lead. Devin Bush returned an interception 97 yards while Sam Webb returned a fumble for 47 yards for a touchdown.
Tee Higgins had a 13-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter to make it 14-12 with Evan McPherson’s missed extra point. He previously had an extra point blocked.
Szmyt hit a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter. After Garrett set the sack record in the fourth quarter — surpassing Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt — the Bengals took a one-point lead with a 4-yard touchdown from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase. But the two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping it a one-point lead.
That gave the Browns the opportunity to stage a comeback of their own, which they were able to capitalize on. Shedeur Sanders converted third-and-10 with a 13-yard pass to Isaiah Bond, then hit Jerry Jeudy for an 11-yard gain on third-and-1. That also put Cleveland in field goal range.
After Dylan Sampson gained 5 yards on third-and-8, Szmyt was set up for his 49-yard attempt, which he nailed — giving Sanders his first game-winning drive.
Sanders finished the contest 11-of-22 for 111 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He did lose a fumble in the first quarter.
On the other side, Burrow was 29-of-39 for 236 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Chase finished with eight catches for 96 yards with a TD while Higgins caught six passes for 67 yards with a touchdown.
With the win, the Browns will finish the season at 5-12 and with back-to-back wins over divisional opponents. The club is widely expected to move on from Stefanski as head coach, though General Manager Andrew Berry is reportedly safe.
The Bengals end the 2025 season 6-11 after Burrow missed much of the year due to torn ligaments in his foot.
Myles Garrett has done it.
Garrett has registered a sack on Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup between the Browns and Steelers to give him 23.5 in 2025, breaking the NFL’s single-season record in the final game of the season.
Garrett was rushing off the offense’s left on first-and-10 midway through the final period, beating tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to get to Burrow in the backfield for the record-breaking sack.
While Garrett had 4.0 sacks over the first three weeks of the season, he then did not register one for Cleveland’s next three games. But he had at least a half-sack in each game since the Browns’ Week 7 victory over the Dolphins — including a whopping 5.0 in Cleveland’s Week 8 loss to New England and 4.0 in the Week 11 loss to Baltimore — until last week, when he did not get a sack on Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers.
Garrett now has 125.5 sacks in his nine-year career and is poised to add more before the season ends.
The Bengals have held Myles Garrett sack-less through the first two quarters. But the Browns still have a 14-12 lead over the Bengals at halftime.
A turnover by Shedeur Sanders helped Cincinnati score its first points. Sanders was strip-sacked by defensive end Cam Sample, with Howard Cross picking up the loose ball. Chase Brown caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow. But the extra point was blocked, keeping the score at 6-0.
The Browns took a 7-6 lead when Shelby Harris tipped a pass in the red zone and Devin Bush picked it off and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. Bush gave his best Marshawn Lynch “beastquake” tribute as he went into the end zone, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty. But Andre Szmyt still put the ball through the uprights on the extra point.
Then Cleveland scored another defensive touchdown when Jerome Baker forced Noah Fant to fumble, and Sam Webb picked the ball up and returned it for a 47-yard touchdown. Webb also tried to “Marshawn” his way into the end zone, but his attempt wasn’t quite as good. Either way, Szmyt put the extra point through for a 14-6 lead.
The Bengals got back on the board late in the half when Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for a 13-yard touchdown. It was Higgins’ career-high 11th touchdown reception of the season.
But Evan McPherson missed the extra point wide right to keep the score at 14-12.
Cleveland’s offense has been ugly, netting only two first downs in the first half. Sanders was 5-of-10 for 48 yards. The club totaled just 40 yards in 18 plays.
Cincinnati’s offense has been hampered by the two turnovers. Burrow is 14-of-19 for 127 yards with two TDs and a pick. Ja’Marr Chase has five receptions for 60 yards.
Burrow has been getting the ball out quickly, limiting the sack opportunities for Garrett. But as long as the Browns lead, the Bengals are at least incentivized to throw the ball.
The Browns have been playing without their top two corners, as Denzel Ward has a neck injury and Tyson Campbell has a shoulder injury.
Cleveland will receive the second-half kickoff.
