WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Right Down The Line 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.359 I get everybody on dan Hord and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:12.360 The Bengals Booth Podcast. The Right Down b Line. Addition, 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:15.520 as we get to know the Bengals new defensive line 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:19.520 coach Jerry Montgomery. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:22.000 you by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals official 0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:26.400 HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.840 designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:32.040 new level, and by Kettering Health, the best care for 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:35.159 the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.280 of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.400 can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.320 to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:49.479 get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since a Super 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:53.519 Bowl in New Orleans. We're all sad that the Bengals 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:55.480 didn't make it back to the Super Bowl this year, 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:58.360 and I am a little extra sad because I consider 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.560 New Orleans to be the greatest city in the world 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.760 to host a big sporting event, and I speak from experience. 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:11.080 For starters, everything is within walking distance the Hotel's Bourbon Street, 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:15.560 the French Quarter, the Superdome, live music, tremendous restaurants, in 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:19.119 great sightseeing. Before our son was born, the Big Easy 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.000 was the number one place that my wife and I 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:25.480 love to go for short vacations, and it's ideal for 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.759 a big sporting event because nearly all of the fans 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:32.160 congregate in the French Quarter every day and night wearing 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.640 their team gear. You'll see everybody you know that made 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:38.800 the trip and will undoubtedly run into friends you haven't 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:43.800 seen in years. Additionally, you'll see the opposing teams fans 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:47.000 every day, and in New Orleans, where the perpetual vibe 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:49.720 is to relax and have a good time, the interaction 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.720 stays friendly. My first taste of all of this was 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.000 in March of nineteen eighty seven when I covered the 0:01:56.000 --> 0:02:00.000 Final Four for the Syracuse Radio Network and sat almost 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.160 directly behind Bobby Knight when Keith Smart's last second shot 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.320 gave Indiana one point win over Syracuse for the national championship. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.840 And speaking of first tastes, that trip marked my introduction 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.280 to the Hurricane, the unofficial cocktail of New Orleans that 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:22.399 is as sweet as kool aid but packs a lethal punch. Fortunately, 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:25.760 I was given valuable advice by a local taxi driver 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:30.160 who said a hurricane is like a woman's bosom. One 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:35.000 is not enough, but three are too many. That advice 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.640 has served me well. I returned to New Orleans nine 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.959 months later for the Sugar Bowl between Syracuse and Auburn, 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.320 and years later did the play by play of another 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:48.600 Sugar Bowl when Cincinnati faced Florida. Attending a Sugar Bowl 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:50.359 gives you the chance to ring in the new year 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:54.639 in a city where last Call doesn't exist. I vividly 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:58.920 remember doing the countdown to midnight in five time zones 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:05.120 on Bourbon Street. In other words, five four three two one, 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:13.919 Happy New Year in New York, New Orleans, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Honolulu. 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:16.720 I was tucked away in bed by the time they 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:20.040 got to Auckland. This will be the eleventh Super Bowl 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.440 in New Orleans, and I've covered one of them. The 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:26.079 nineteen ninety seven matchup between Green Bay and New England. 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.520 Packers quarterback Brett Farv was the big story all week 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:34.320 because he was from nearby Kill, Mississippi. Like nearly every 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.560 reporter covering that Super Bowl, I dutifully made the trip 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:42.160 to Kill to do the Farv's hometown Angle. While there, 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:46.160 I ran into a fledgling musician named Stevie t who 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:49.200 had written a tribute song to Farv called Brett's on 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:54.320 a Quest. These priceless lyrics are forever seared into my brain. 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:59.200 Daddy was a coach, showed him the way train fight win. 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:04.840 That's the form you lehy, not exactly Lennon and McCartney. 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.240 My best New Orleans experience came as a fan, as 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.240 my wife and I attended the two thousand and three 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.280 Final Four to see our alma mater, Syracuse beat Kansas 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.640 for the national championship. It was like a college reunion 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.240 set in the Big Easy as most of our closest 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.760 friends from schools showed up unannounced for the weekend, and 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:27.120 best of all, our team won. I was hoping to 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:30.160 experience that again in a couple of weeks, but it 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:32.640 wasn't meant to be. I guess we'll all have to 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:37.159 settle for Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California next February. 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:41.240 Now let's get to my guest. The Bengals announced the 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:45.239 hiring of two defensive coaches on Monday. Linebackers coach Mike Hodges, 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.760 who spent the last eight years with the Saints, and 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:52.280 defensive line coach and run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery, who 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.160 was with the Patriots last year after spending the previous 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:59.240 nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Montgomery is forty 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.200 five years old, and we'll look to elevate a position 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.200 group that must perform better for the Bengals to make 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:09.000 significant improvement on defense. I spoke to them via zoom 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:13.880 on Monday, Jelly, I was amused by your Twitter profile 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:20.280 because it says husband, father, and love. Teaching fundamentals. Is 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:23.920 that your strength as a defensive line coach, you know what. 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.680 That's how I was brought up, because it doesn't matter 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.800 what you'd call. At the end of the day, you 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.040 can go back to any mistake that happens, unless it's 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:35.880 a total bust and you don't know what you're supposed 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:40.360 to be doing all right on any given play, all right. 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.240 It starts with your hands, eyes, and feet, and if 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:47.400 those things aren't right and what you're taught and fundamentally 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.960 and you're making mistakes, it's usually because it starts with 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.080 one of those two three one of those two or 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:57.000 three things. So that's how I was raised, and I 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.560 was brought up with coach parents and Ron Ake and 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.080 and spend some time with p Jink. It's also guys 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.960 that are just fundamentally sound and base and it starts 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.159 from there, and then from there, you know, we're going 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.680 to challenge these guys to push them outside of their 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.400 comfort zone as far as learning football. 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.360 You know, I'm glad you mentioned some of your coaching 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:21.960 influences because you played at a high level at Iowa. 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.000 You got to look from the Saints in the NFL. 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:28.480 What did your best coaches do for you in helping 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:30.240 you become the player you became? 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.320 Be great teachers. I can say this. 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:39.240 I was lucky and I was fortunate to have good teachers, 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:43.560 especially at the University of Iowa. And that's their program 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.120 to this day is one of the most successful programs 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:51.600 in college football with less talent than anybody else in 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:54.960 the country. You put those kids at Alabama in front 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.240 of coach parents, you know, you're talking about him like 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.799 they're talking about Nick. But again, you take Nick, Bill 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.839 and Kirk, they were all on one staff together, so 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.960 you know they all come from the same tree, but 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.000 just a great foundation. And I was a sponge as 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.720 a player, So when I got done playing. I knew 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:19.320 right away, you know what I wanted to do. And 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:23.400 it's crazy because I quit chasing the dream of playing. 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.440 Just you know, you get cut enough, you're like all right, 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:27.920 time to go to the world world. And I get 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.120 a medical sales job. And then ron Ake and my 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.120 D line coach, calls me, says, hey, what are you doing. 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:34.880 I just told myself I just took a job on 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:38.760 it make some real money, he says. He goes, there's 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:44.040 a junior college job at North Iowa Area Community College, 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.640 which no longer has football. He goes, hey, you can 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:49.680 go be the D line coach there. They're looking for 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.880 a young college guy that just graduated. And he goes, 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.120 you can get you know, a fifteen hundred dollars stipend, 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.480 free room and board. And I said, oh, coach, you know. 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:01.120 He goes, No, that's what you need to do. So 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.880 I had to go tell my wife. My coach says, hey, 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:05.920 this is who I am, this is what I need 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.320 to do. And that's what I did, and so and 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:11.080 then just never looked back. How long were you in 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:17.280 medical sales? Never started the job, never started the job. 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:21.920 So accepted the offer and then literally the phone call 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:24.960 happened the next you know, the next day, and then 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.600 I took the the d line job at Nayak. 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.320 Were visiting with Jerry Montgomery. You played tackle. How much 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:36.840 difference is there between coaching tackles and coaching ends? If 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:37.360 there is a. 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.680 Difference, fundamentally, there's a little more space for ends when 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:46.400 you're on edges, but you know, the there's a lot 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:51.079 more blocked you can receive in things inside with the 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:54.200 interior tackles compared to the things that you have to 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.840 work with the guys on the edges. And again from 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.640 a passer standpoint, there's a slight difference. And you know 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.520 how fast you have to work or move on the 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:07.280 inside compared to the outside. All right, So other than that, 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.679 it's it's all the same. And you know, I look 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.440 forward to working with the group that we have there 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.360 and you know, possibly some of the new faces that 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:18.080 we'll have next year. 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:22.720 Also, your title in Cincinnati includes run game coordinator. I 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.520 think we've all heard that with offensive line coaches. I'm 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.360 not sure I've heard it with defensive line coaches. Explain 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.479 run game coordinator from a defensive perspective. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:33.840 At the end of the day, you know Al is 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:38.000 going to call it, but I hope to make his 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.559 job a lot easier. If he's got questions about anything 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:44.720 that happens within that run game, I should be able 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.400 to have answers. If there's issues on the field, I 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.640 should be able to have answers and solutions to those 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.079 problems and how we want to fix them in game adjustment. 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:57.280 So my job is just to make his job a 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:00.120 lot easier when it comes to the run game. And 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:02.440 you know, that's got to be something that I'm mastering that. 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:04.520 You know I did that. I had the same title 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:09.080 in Green Bay. But ultimately, you know, Al's gonna call 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:13.960 the defense, but I'll have a heavy influence on you know, 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.040 what we're seeing, how we want to attack it, and 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.679 then run that by Al. And so that's kind of 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:19.240 how it goes. 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:22.360 What do you know about Al And did you follow 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.000 his defense as at Notre Dame over the last few years. 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:27.280 Well, you know, I love college football. I've got a 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.240 son that's a red shirt sophomore at the University of Iowa. 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:34.199 So we're watching college football every weekend. Every Saturday. We 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.280 watched the whole playoff run, watch their national championship run. 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:41.400 There and you know, he's done a tremendous job wherever 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.480 he's been, when he was the head coach at Temple 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:50.320 to his time at Miami, and just everybody I've talked 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:52.240 to has a ton of respect for him as a 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.280 coach and as a person. And you know, that's what 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.120 I'm most excited about, is just being around another good 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.680 coach and teacher, somebody I can learn from and grow from. 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.040 Jerry Montgomery, as our guest, you essentially became a free 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.560 agent when the Patriots decided to change head coaches. Was 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.360 there competition for your services? Did the Bengals have to 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:15.160 beat others out in order to lure you to Cincinnati? 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.120 You know, I'll keep you know the names in house, 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.439 but yeah, I mean there were other opportunities to go 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:26.560 to multiple different places, but you know one this one 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:31.240 is means, you know, it's important to us in our family. 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.880 It's close to the Midwest. My wife is you know, 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.280 grew up on a farm in Dyersville, Isowa. So we're 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.400 six hours or something like that from home. She can 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.839 watch a high school game Friday night of our son 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:47.040 who's a freshman who'll be a sophomore next year, and 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:49.080 be able to get in a car and get to 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:52.559 Iowa City to watch our one son that plays and 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.320 our other son who's a freshman there as a student 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:58.000 assistant in the football office. So so that was important 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:01.600 to us. And hell, like what was Zach has done 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:05.200 here has been you know, pretty damn special. And so 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:07.880 you know, I'm excited about being around you know, Hall 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:11.560 of Fame quarterback and having the opportunity to to fix 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.400 any issues we have on defense and making it as 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.760 good as we can. So yeah, so I'm excited about that. 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.679 Is Dyersville the site of the Field of Dreams field. 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.320 It is it is her farm is I would say 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.920 her farm is exactly like two and a half miles 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:31.120 from the Field of Dreams farm, so they she grew 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.679 up on a dairy farm. My father in law has 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:38.400 has since sold his cows and he's just you know, 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:42.040 crop farms now and and it has some corns and 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:43.760 bean beans and things like that. 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:45.520 So we're back there all the time. 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.680 If you build it with a defensive line, the Super 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:50.440 Bowl can come. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.520 There you go, there, you go. Aut. 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.000 Jerry Montgomery is our guest. You're part of Matt Lafloor's 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.560 staff for several years. In Green Bay and Mike Holmgrin 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:05.280 before that. Matt obviously hasn't tied to Zach Taylor from 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.400 their time together with the Rams. Did that have anything 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.679 to do with this connection and winding up in Cincinnati. 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:16.720 You know what, it didn't. I didn't know anybody, you 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:18.679 know what, I take that back. I didn't know anybody 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.760 on the staff other than Jordan Kovac. So Jordan we 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:23.719 coached at the University of Michigan when I was a 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:25.800 D line coach there. He was our start and safety, 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.000 so and I know he's a bright young star in 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:33.080 his profession, smart, smart kid like he was player. But 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.480 I didn't have any connections or ties to the staff. 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:38.080 I was. 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:42.800 Down the road with the team and I got a 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.560 text Thursday morning that they put in my slipt and 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:48.599 had an opportunity to visit with Zach, and then it 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:53.520 just kind of happened quickly, and so I was excited 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:56.160 when the opportunity came, But no, there was there was 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:01.480 no connections. Knew of people on the staff Zach and 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.960 knew about and so on and so forth, and obviously 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:09.599 playing them first game of the season last year, and 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.240 knew some of the guys that were there from the 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:13.439 previous staff that it is. 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:14.040 No longer with it. 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.240 I think, I said Mike Hombgrin, I met Mike McCarthys 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:21.400 before you coach a batt lafleur. Let's discuss some of 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:24.600 the personnel that's under contract for the upcoming season, Beginning 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.360 with Trey Hendrickson. He led the NFL with seventeen and 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.360 a half sacks. He had seventeen and a half the 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:32.720 year before. He's averaged fourteen plus in his four years 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.480 with the Bengals. How do you describe Trey and what's 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.080 it mean to begin with that building block as you 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.440 try to put together an elite defensive line. 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.920 Yeah, man, to have a guy that's been that productive, 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.840 you know, there's not a whole lot that's going to 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.680 have to change. You know, we'll teach him the scheme 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:52.200 and what we want to do. But when it gets 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:54.960 down to, you know, affecting the quarterback, it looks like 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.600 he's doing a hell of a job as it so, 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.440 I mean, those type of numbers are awesome. Now, what 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:03.200 you'd like to have is a couple other guys on 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.440 that front, especially on the inside, be able to affect 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:10.760 the quarterback. You know, you're not gonna have somebody inside 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:14.240 other than Aaron Donald having seventeen. But you'd like to 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:16.960 be able to affect the quarterback, and that was one 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.880 thing in Green Bay we were able to do with 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.800 the front four is be able to affect it from 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.520 the inside out. So when you can be able to 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.880 push the pocket from the inside, those guys on the edge, 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.520 it makes their job a lot easier. So that quarterback 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:35.640 is spinning out to the level of the rushers on 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.760 the edge. So you know, look forward to adding to 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.520 the group. But man, it's a good start to have him, 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:42.160 that's for sure. 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.960 More with Jerry on, Miles Murphy, Sam Hubbard and much more. 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:49.760 But first, here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.080 podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:56.320 be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.360 future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.600 and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.640 the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:10.400 the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. The Bengals drafted 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.240 a couple of defensive tackles last year. Chris Jenkins in 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.880 the second round, McKinley Jackson in the third. Did you 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.880 study those guys prior to last year's draft and what 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:20.200 do you think of them? 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:27.560 Yeah, you know, good size, productive, you know, guys that 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.400 have played hard, been with some good programs, so good 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:33.840 building blocks, you know. And one thing we're going to 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.120 do and ask them to do is play extremely hard 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:40.480 and play with technique fundamentals. So I look forward to 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:41.480 working with those two. 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:45.880 Also, how can you help Miles Murphy turn his immense 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:48.840 physical gifts into more production on the field. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.320 I've said it two or three times already, you've brought 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:55.680 it up. It's going to start with our fundamentals. Like 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.800 that is everything, because at the end of the day, 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.720 if we can get those young men to play with 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:05.080 great technique fundamentals, they're going to have a chance to 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:08.520 be productive. We're gonna teach them how to do things, 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.960 how to play blocks, and that way, when they get something, 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:13.840 they can play it the way we want them to 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:15.880 play it. And then if they do it the way 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:17.159 we ask them to do it, they're going to be 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:18.840 in position to make plays. We're not going to have 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:22.640 to go chase plays. We're not going to have to 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.280 create things to make plays. They're gonna make the plays 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:28.000 that come to them, and that's that's what we're supposed 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:28.880 to do, is de line. 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.000 Sam Hubbard's been a key Bengal now for seven years. 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:34.040 He's got a year left on his deal. He's approaching 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.600 his thirtieth birthday. What have you thought of Sam Hubbard 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:37.960 over the years? 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.200 Steady, steady, Eddie, Consistent. 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.399 I mean, you look at the Bengals defenses over the 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:48.520 you know, the five to six five six years. Those 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.679 guys have been staples in the leagues and you know, 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:53.560 one plays on the left, one plays on the right, 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:57.600 and they've done a good job and consistent. They play hard, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.480 So I mean, that's that's all you can ask for 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.760 with guys is to play to the best of your 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:06.280 ability week in and week out. 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.439 And they've done that. They've showed that, and they're proven players. 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:11.880 See line coach Jerry Montgomery is our guest, as I'm 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.040 sure you know, assistant coaches in Cincinnati have a significant 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.040 voice when it comes to the draft and when it 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:19.760 comes to free agency. Has that been the case in 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.119 your past and are you looking forward to that with 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:22.840 the Bengals. 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:28.160 Yeah, I'm excited about it because I think and again, 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:30.880 every place is different, but I think there's times where 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:35.440 you feel like you've invested a lot of time into 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:40.080 evaluating these prospects and getting to know them, finding out 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.760 what their football IQ is, how they're you know, how 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:45.960 they're going to handle the things that you give them, 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.240 how they process, and then you feel really good about 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:53.120 somebody and then they're there at that spot we talked 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.399 about taking them, and then you take somebody else that 0:18:55.480 --> 0:19:00.240 you didn't necessarily love. And so I'm looking forward to 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.560 being able to sit in there and you know, voice 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.240 my opinion on things, and then whatever we decide to do, 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.280 we decide to do. But yeah, I mean it's different 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.959 everwhere you go. So I hear here you're heavily involved, 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:16.000 which is awesome because I think sometimes as coaches, you know, 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:19.159 that's what we complain about most is not having a 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.119 lot of say in the guys that we get or 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:22.720 that we take. 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:25.960 What are the most important traits you look for? 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:32.159 Well, again, you can have the most talented guy in 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.800 the world, but you know we talk about in our 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:41.359 d line room, toughness, effort, technique, and fundamentals. Those three 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:44.920 things doesn't take talent. So if we're willing to buy 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:48.879 into those things, we're gonna have a chance. But again, 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.560 always I think it's important. You want guys that have talent, 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:56.119 but you want guys that can process and learn and 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:58.600 be able to take the game to the next level. 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:02.000 And my room, I'm gonna be very demanding on them 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:05.200 to uh, you know, get out of their comfort zone 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:07.440 and learning the game and seeing it the way a 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:10.439 coach Seeson. Not not everybody can handle that, but the 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:12.400 guys that I've had in the past that have been 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:15.040 able to do that, the Kenny Clarks, the Dean Lowry's 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:17.840 you know, you know, there's a ton of guys that 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:19.719 I work with that have been able to handle and 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:26.439 process that, and they're extremely effective players on the field 0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:28.480 because they can take in the things that we're trying 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.480 to teach them to grow so so that that that's 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:34.879 one of the most important things. And too, you know, 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:38.000 you can look like Tarzan and play like Jane. You know, 0:20:38.119 --> 0:20:40.720 it's great to have size, and I love it, but 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:42.760 you need to be able to play the game. So 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:46.080 when you turn on that film, uh, it's got to 0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:48.320 be more than him just looking good. He's got to 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:51.080 be able to play he's got to be productive. We 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:53.280 took a guy in Green Bay by the name of 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:57.440 Carl Brooks. All he did at b from Bowling green 0:20:57.520 --> 0:21:00.720 All he did was he played stand up outside backer. 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.320 He played five technique, he played three technique, he played 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:08.400 nose tackle. And he was productive in all of those positions. 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:10.600 And I love him. And you know, we got him 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:13.119 as a rookie and guess what he did at this level. 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:16.800 He was a productive player. He was able to affect 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:18.639 a quarterback. He learned how to play the run the 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.840 way we wanted to play the run, and you know, 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:25.240 so that's you know, but again, is he walk in 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:27.600 the building? Is he going to look like Tarzan? Probably not, 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:32.400 But he definitely was a ballplayer when you snap that ball. 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:34.680 You worked with Mike Daniels when he was a pro 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:37.240 bowler in Green Bay. He finished his career with Cincinnati. 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:38.840 He was part of the Super Bowl team in twenty 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.320 twenty one. Have you talked to Mike since deciding to 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:44.119 come to the Bengals and if so, what has he 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:45.600 shared about being in Cincinnati. 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:46.800 Yeah, you know, he. 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:49.760 Reached out to me once he heard it. As a 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:51.639