Justin Hill is in his third Bengals season in 2023, after joining the staff in '21 as running backs coach.
In 2022, Hill coached a running backs group that helped the Cincinnati offense rank seventh in the NFL in scoring (26.1 points per game) and eighth in total yards (360.5 per game). HB Joe Mixon posted 1255 yards from scrimmage, including a career-high 441 receiving yards despite missing two games due to a concussion. In his absence, HB Semaje Perine started Games 11-12 and rushed for a combined 166 yards on 38 carries (4.4 average). Perine finished the regular season with 394 rushing yards, his most since 2017, and recorded a career-high 287 receiving yards.
In 2021, his first season in Cincinnati, Hill helped Mixon enjoy a career year that resulted in his first Pro Bowl selection. Mixon ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards (1205) and rushing TDs (13) during the regular season, then ran for 262 yards in the postseason to help lead the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI. He became one of just four players in team history to amass 4000 career rushing yards and 1000 receiving yards, and did so in the fewest amount of games (60).
Hill spent the previous six seasons (2015-20) as running backs coach at the University of Tulsa. During his tenure with the Golden Hurricane, the team's running backs totaled 50 100-yard rushing games and five 200-yard games. As a team, they topped 300 yards rushing in 13 games, while his running backs earned four all-conference honors.
In 2020, Hill was promoted before the season to run game coordinator, and then helped steer Tulsa's backfield through an injury to No. 1 RB Shamari Brooks. RBs Corey Taylor II and Deneric Prince stepped in and combined for 1076 rushing yards and eight TDs in just nine games.
In 2016, Two of Hill's proteges — RBs James Flanders and D'Angelo Brewer — each topped 1000 yards rushing, with Flanders' school-record 1629 yards leading the American Athletic Conference. Flanders and Brewer became the first duo in school history to combine for 3000 rushing yards, and helped the Golden Hurricane rank eighth nationally in rushing yards per game (261.7), while also setting a school record with eight 300-plus yard games.
In 2017, Tulsa ranked 14th nationally in rushing (247.3), and Brewer became the all-time rushing leader (3917) for both Tulsa and the AAC. After the season, Hill was one of 30 coaches nationwide selected by the American Football Coaches Association to participate in the AFCA's "30 Under 30" Coaches' Leadership Institute.
During his tenure at Tulsa, Hill guided four players — Flanders, Brewer, Brooks and Taylor — to 1000 career rushing yards. He also was at the helm for three of Tulsa's top five single-season rushing outputs.
Prior to his time at Tulsa, Hill spent three seasons (2012-14) at Baylor University, where he served as associate director of athletic performance for the football team. He spent 2011 as a graduate assistant coach at Iowa State.
Hill played collegiately at Rice University from 2007-10. He began his career as a running back, starting seven games and racking up a team-high 321 yards and three TDs as a true freshman. Due to injuries on Rice's defense the following year, Hill moved to the other side of the ball. He spent his final three seasons at linebacker, and totaled 97 tackles, six pass break-ups and three FFs. He was a team co-captain in 2010 and won the Jess Nealy Award, an honor given annually to the Owls' top linebacker.
Hill was born Sept. 9, 1988 in Mesquite, Texas. He graduated from Rice in 2011 with a degree in sociology, and then earned a master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies from Iowa State in 2015. He and his wife, Dana, have one daughter, Avery, and one son, Jordan.
Playing and coaching history: 2007-10—Played running back and linebacker at Rice. 2011—Graduate assistant, Iowa State. 2012-14—Associate director of athletic performance, Baylor. 2015-20—Assistant coach (AC), Tulsa. 2021-present—AC, Cincinnati Bengals.
