In the last two years of the late Sam Wyche's run as the Bengals head coach who altered the game with his no huddle offense, he didn't have a titled offensive coordinator after Bruce Coslet became head coach of the Jets.

Instead, Wyche called the collaboration of his position coaches something like an explosion of ideas, and that's a good way to describe how the Bengals tweaked their running game this spring under offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and his NFL top-ranked passing game.

After offensive line coach Frank Pollack's departure following last season, head coach Zac Taylor opted not to assign anyone the run coordinator job. Like Wyche, Taylor turned to an experienced group of position coaches to team up, such as wide receivers coach Troy Walters, once a finalist for the nation's top award for assistant coaches when he was the offensive coordinator at Central Florida.

James Casey, Taylor's only tight end coach here in his seven seasons, was an NFL tight end for seven years. Running backs coach Justin Hill is in his fifth year and has three 1,300-yard touch seasons from Joe Mixon and Chase Brown. Offensive line coach Scott Peters is a disciple of O-line gurus Jim McNally and Bill Callahan. Pass game coordinator Justin Rascati has worked with NFL offensive lines and quarterbacks.

"That's been the overarching thing of the entire offseason. It's a collaborative effort," Hill says. "Everyone has a chance to give input in every aspect. Whether it's in the run game or pass game.

"We've all got experience in different areas. It's great because we have conversations about not just the run game, but every aspect of the offense. Tempo. The way we call things. The way we label things. It gives everybody a chance to have ownership, as well as get people out of their comfort zones. It's not just myself, James, and Scott learning from each other. But also getting myself out of my comfort zone and get more involved in the pass game."

Taylor, like Wyche, calls his own plays. Like Wyche, Taylor likes to use the word "evolve," when it comes to his system, and he did when talking about the run game Thursday at the end of mandatory minicamp.

"Where our offense is at and who are our weapons. How you utilize the pass game needs to be balanced, and the run game needs to look very similar to the defense. That's a constant evolution for us in the run game," Taylor said. "It's not just myself, Pitch, Scott, it's the whole offensive staff. Justin Hill and James Casey, I have tremendous respect for their knowledge of the run game. They've been here a long time, and they have a huge role.

"Justin Rascati, I have tremendous respect for him and his role in the run game. Troy Walters as well. All of these guys play a big part in that. Pitch has done a great job delegating responsibilities to these guys, and that will continue to happen in training camp."

Chase Brown, heading into his first year teamed with Samaje Perine in the backfield, has also evolved and is clearly not the same player he was last Opening Day before turning into one of the most productive backs in the league.

The Bengals have adjusted, and Brown spoke lovingly this week of how the tweaked run game looks more downhill and resembles how it did when he ran the ball for the Illini.

It looks like a lot of inside zone runs, fewer outside zones and a healthy diet of double teams to match the personnel on an offensive line towering with tackles and brimming with brute guards.

"One of the advantages of having a refresh in your coaching staff is that people are coming with a 10,000- foot view not knowing and just observing and being honest about what and who we are," says Ted Karras, the old Illini center. "I think we're still hammering it out. Obviously, we're going to be a (shot) gun run team and do things that highlight Chase Brown's speed……I think there's going to be a lot of similarities in how the Chiefs run the football. I think we match up similarly, but there are going to be nuances. I think there's a big advantage to having new guys come in and see stuff."

Pitcher made headlines during minicamp when he said the Bengals have no plans to shy away from their strength. Everyone knows that's a devastating passing game bubbling with an MVP candidate at quarterback, an All-Pro at wide receiver, a double-digit touchdown maker at the other receiver, and a tight end who has had a 70-catch and a 60-catch season

"We know who we are as an offense. That's a gift. We know what we are. It's how do we allocate our resources," Pitcher said. "The run game to me is how do you support that? Getting downhill, minimize the chance of a negative play."

Whatever happens, it's going to run on a committee of brains.

"We gave each (coach) an area to focus on and we came together to decide what we wanted to do this spring and that's what we'll do moving forward as well," Pitcher said. "Ultimately, it's on me and then Zac to decide what it is we are going to do. But there are a lot of voices and smart people with good ideas."

Slants and Screens

Emptying out the mandatory mini notebook:

Taylor also talked about getting out of his own comfort zone when it came to hiring Al Golden, only his second defensive coordinator in his seven years.

"I just think anytime there is change within a program and change in the coaching staff, it's good. It makes me adjust. It makes me uncomfortable in some areas," Taylor said. "I don't know the defense as well as I did in years past, which is great. It gives me something to invest in and grow in and fine tune over the course of the summer. Then I come back to training camp in the same shape as some of those guys mentally. I think it's really good for all of us to have a change in the schedule, have some change with some scheme."

Thus, one of the reasons he moved training camp practices to the morning …

Another change is no joint practices leading into a preseason game. He didn't rule out any in future years, but he did for 2025.

"This was a year we decided we were just going to focus on ourselves. A little of it took shape the way our preseason schedule is going to fall. We play Philly pretty quick (Aug. 7) and then we've got a long break before playing Washington (Aug. 18).

"We're going to get six great full padded practices between the Philly game and the Washington game with no distractions, just us going against each other making sure we're improving on the things we need to improve on. We didn't even do the (practices) for the tail end of that week, so that we can make those decisions when we get into camp on what we're going to do and what we're going to emphasize. You can tell I'm fired up about it. I can't wait to get to that part of the preseason and see where this team has grown into." …

Here's a name that keeps coming up. Josh “Fig,” Newton, the second-year cornerback. The projected regular cornerbacks are Dax Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner II. The thinking is Hill goes in the slot, but you keep hearing about Newton when players talk about guys stepping up and leading and when the coaches talk about his versatility in the slot and outside.

Of course, Golden and cornerbacks coach Charles Burks have made sure each cornerback is getting a shot at playing the inside. Newton has apparently looked good in and out.

"We'll see where it goes. It's a little bit early for that," Golden said of meting out the slots. "It's one thing to be smart and it's one thing to love football, but to love the approach and the process, the way they do, that's what's been awesome every day. And that's what motivates us as coaches to be better every day.

"I think those guys' approach is like, 'Give me more, let me do more things. Let me play corner. Let me play safety. Let me play nickel. Let me play dime.' And so they're telling us by their actions that they can receive the information, digest it from multiple positions, and obviously, ultimately, that's going to make us better." …