The Bengals are likely to lose a valuable and talented member of their coaching staff, wide receivers coach Hue Jackson. A source in Atlanta said Jackson is likely to become the offensive coordinator for new Falcons coach Bobby Petrino.
Jackson and Petrino were on the same Arizona State staff for two seasons, 1992-93; Jackson stayed through 1995. He had a season as offensive cooordinator for Steve Spurrier with the Washington Redskins in 2003. He was offensive coordinator at California in 1996 and Southern Cal from 1997-2000.
Petrino will be introduced this afternoon as Falcons coach, replacing Jim Mora, fired last week.
Petrino and his Louisville staff visited Bengals training camp near Lexington, Ky. (Georgetown College) at least two times over the years.
The Bengals, as club policy, do not comment on coaching searches involving any of their employees. Coach Marvin Lewis said last week that his entire staff of assistants was under contract for the 2007 season. Bengals president Mike Brown, however, has allowed his coaches to pursue promotions with other teams. After the 2003 season, former wide receivers coach Alex Wood was allowed to go to the Arizona Cardinals as offensive coordinator under Dennis Green. That move opened the spot for Jackson.
Under Jackson's guidance, Chad Johnson has made three consecutive AFC Pro Bowl teams. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has emerged as a dangerous No. 2 receiver with more than 900 receiving yards in 2004 and 2005 before breaking past the 1,000-yard mark in 2006. Also, second-year wide receiver Chris Henry, despite repeated brushes with the law away from the stadium, has been a productive player on the field.
Jackson stressed down-field blocking in the run game from his receivers and the goal of running for yards after the catch. Houshmandzadeh is especially talented at gaining yards after the catch.
With one of the NFL's most prolific offenses and a talented offensive coaching staff, the Bengals were ripe and remain ripe to be picked for coordinators. Quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese also has been a coordinator candidate in the past two years. Running backs coach Jim Anderson has interviewed for other jobs, as well, namely the head coaching position at Stanford University after the 2002 season.
The 4 letter network is reporting he was hired as OC
..__..
{o,o}
|)__)
-"-"-
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on....
Good for him. One of the coaches from the Spurrier regime I actually liked.
RIP 21
"Nah, I trust the laws of nature to stay constant. I don't pray that the sun will rise tomorrow, and I don't need to pray that someone will beat the Cowboys in the playoffs." - Irn-Bru
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Bobby Petrino wasted no time in finding his defensive and offensive coordinators.
A day after being introduced as Atlanta's head coach, Petrino reached agreements Tuesday with Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Cincinnati receivers coach Hue Jackson to be his right-hand men with the Falcons. The hirings were confirmed by an official in the league Tuesday night, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they hadn't yet been announced.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the agreement between Petrino and Zimmer on Tuesday.
Petrino said Monday he wants the Falcons to run a 4-3 defense.
"One of my critical hires will be my defensive coordinator," Petrino said Monday. "It's certainly going to be very important to me. I want to be able to play the game very aggressive and be able to come after the quarterback. Obviously, you have to stop the run first."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the discussions with Jackson, who was the Bengals' receivers coach.
Petrino plans to call the plays during games, but Jackson is expected to run the offense in practice and help coordinate the offensive game plans.
Jackson, 45, has been with the Bengals for three years. He was the Washington Redskins' running backs coach in 2001-02 and the team's offensive coordinator in 2003.
Jackson was a college assistant for 14 years, including Southern California's offensive coordinator from 1997-2000.
Zimmer will replace Ed Donatell, who served as defensive coordinator under Jim Mora Jr. Jackson will replace Mora's offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp.
Petrino plans to retain two assistants from Mora's staff, quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and running backs coach Ollie Wilson, according to the Journal-Constitution.
Zimmer, 50, has worked with the Cowboys for 13 seasons and took over as defensive coordinator in 2000. He has agreed to a two-year contract, according to the Dallas paper. His contract with the Cowboys was expected to expire this offseason, and his future in Dallas was uncertain with coach Bill Parcells' status unknown.
Zimmer worked with Petrino at Weber State in 1987 and `88. Zimmer's Dallas defense led the NFL in 2003.
Now that team in Texas will be looking for a new DC
..__..
{o,o}
|)__)
-"-"-
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on....
