On Friday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed Dan Pitcher, the Cincinnati Bengals' quarterbacks coach, for their open offensive coordinator job. The interview was conducted virtually because the Bengals are preparing to play in the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City on Sunday.
Pitcher is the fourth candidate to which the Buccaneers have spoken over the past three days. They previously held in-person meetings with Passing Game Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach Klint Kubiak, Minnesota Vikings Wide Receivers Coach Keenan McCardell and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter on Wednesday and Thursday. The Buccaneers parted ways with Byron Leftwich, their offensive coordinator of the past four seasons, on January 19.
Pitcher has spent the last seven seasons on the Bengals' staff, the most recent three as the team's quarterbacks coach. Prior to that he was an offensive assistant from 2016-18 and the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019. He first began working in the NFL in the Indianapolis Colts' scouting department in 2013.
Pitcher's promotion to quarterbacks coach coincided with Cincinnati's selection of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Pitcher has helped the young passer develop quickly into an MVP candidate and a playoff catalyst. After a knee injury ended his rookie season prematurely, Burrow has led the Bengals to a 22-10 record in the regular season over the past two years and two consecutive conference championship games. The Bengals lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
On the way to that final showdown in Los Angeles at the end of the 2021 season, Burrow led the NFL with a 70.4 completion percentage and an average of 8.9 yards per attempt while also compiling a 108.3 passer rating. This season, Burrow put up nearly identical numbers and earned his first Pro Bowl invitation.
Pitcher played quarterback at Colgate University and SUNY Cortland before beginning his coaching career at SUNY Cortland, tutoring the wide receivers. In his senior season, he was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, the Division III version of the Heisman Trophy.
