James Casey is in his fifth season in Cincinnati, and fifth as an NFL coach. He joined the Bengals as tight ends coach prior to the 2019 season.
In 2022, Casey worked with TE Hayden Hurst, an offseason free agent signee who went on to start 13 games. Despite missing three contests due to injury, Hurst caught 52 passes — the most by a Bengals TE since 2015 — for 414 yards and two TDs. Stepping into the starting lineup when Hurst was out was TE Mitchell Wilcox, who set career highs in receptions (17) and receiving yards (139), while contributing to the team's blocking effort.
In 2021, Casey helped TE C.J. Uzomah log career highs in catches (49), receiving yards (493) and receiving TDs (five), ranking in the top 10 among AFC tight ends in each category. TE Drew Sample continued to establish himself as a premier blocking tight end, helping pave the way for HB Joe Mixon recording a career-high 1205 rushing yards.
In 2020, Casey helped Sample transition into a more prominent role in his second pro season, after Uzomah suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. Sample went on to net career highs in receptions (40) and receiving yards (349).
In 2019, his first season in Cincinnati, Casey helped Bengals tight ends account for a third of the team's receiving TDs (six of 18). The tight ends also helped boost the blocking efforts over the team's final eight games, as Cincinnati allowed 10 fewer sacks in the second half of 2019 compared to the first, and its per-game rushing average increased by 70.6 yards.
Prior to joining the Bengals, Casey spent three years (2016-18) on the University of Houston coaching staff. In 2018, he served as special teams coordinator/tight ends coach, and helped the Cougars' offense rank fourth nationally in scoring (46.4 points per game), sixth in total offense (528.6 yards per game), 14th in passing offense (300.9), and 20th in rushing offense (227.7). Houston was one of two schools (the other was Oklahoma) to rank in the top 20 nationally in both passing and rushing offense.
In 2017, Casey played a key role in the emergence of TE Romello Brooker, who caught 29 passes for 364 yards and six TDs (led American Athletic Conference). Brooker had entered 2017 with just nine career catches.
In 2016, Casey's first coaching season after a seven-year ('09-15) NFL playing career, he served as offensive football analyst for Houston and helped the Cougars to a No. 15 national ranking in passing offense (310.9 yards per game). Houston also ranked 21st in scoring (38.0 points per game), and topped the 30-point park in 11 of 12 regular-season games.
A tight end/fullback during his playing career, Casey originally was a fifth-round draft pick of the Texans in 2009, and spent four seasons ('09-12) with Houston before later stints with the Philadelphia Eagles ('13-14) and Denver Broncos ('15).
Casey played collegiately at Rice University in Houston, where he had a record-setting career as a tight end in just two seasons (2007-08). He left the program with school records for receptions in a season, receiving yards in a season and receiving yards in a game. He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2007, and first-team All-Conference USA and CoSIDA Academic All-American honors in 2008. He was also named the 2008 recipient of Rice's James W. Glanville Award, presented annually to the player who has achieved excellence in athletics, academics and integrity.
Prior to his time at Rice, Casey was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent three seasons with the White Sox organization as a pitcher, before enrolling at Rice and pursuing football.
Casey was born on Sept. 22, 1984, in Fort Worth, Texas, and was raised in nearby Azle, Texas. He attended Azle High School, where he was a standout quarterback on the football team and pitcher on the baseball team.
Casey and his wife, Kylie, have two sons, Cannon and Knox.
Playing and coaching history: 2007-08—Played tight end at Rice. 2009-12—Played tight end, Houston Texans. 2013-14—Played tight end with Philadelphia Eagles. 2015—Played tight end with Denver Broncos. 2016-18—Assistant coach (AC), University of Houston. 2019-present—AC, Cincinnati Bengals.
