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    Cincinnati Bengals Safeties Coach Rob Livingston Leaving To Be Defensive Coordinator at Colorado

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    The Cincinnati Bengals are losing their second-longest-tenured coach, as Rob Livingston is headed to Colorado to be Deion Sanders' DC.

    CINCINNATI — The number of vacancies on the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff has doubled with safeties coach Robert Livingston heading to Colorado to be Deion Sanders’ defensive coordinator, per a team source.

    The Bengals have been interviewing for the open quarterbacks coach position since offensive coordinator Brian Callahan took the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans. The Bengals promoted Dan Pitcher from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator to replace Callahan.

    Bengals Lose Safeties Coach Rob Livingston to Deion Sanders, CU

    One of seven coaches Zac Taylor retained from Marvin Lewis’ staff, Livingston was the second longest-tenured coach next to special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons.

    Livingston joined the Bengals as a scout in 2014 and remained in that role through 2015. He was then promoted to a defensive quality control coach while also working with the safeties and assisting Simmons, who has been on staff since 2003, with special teams.

    In 2018, Livingston took over as safeties coach just months before the team drafted Jessie Bates III in the second round. Livingston played an integral role in developing Bates into one of the premier safeties in the league.

    The Bengals are mulling a succession plan at quarterbacks coach, with assistant Brad Kragthorpe having already interviewed, and they could promote from within for Livingston’s replacement, with assistant linebackers coach Jordan Kovacs being a leading candidate.

    Kovacs, who has been with the Bengals since 2019, played safety at the University of Michigan and played three seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins — while Taylor and Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo were on staff in Miami — from 2013-15.

    It’s an important time in the development of the back end of the defense, with 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill coming off his first full season as a starter while 2023 third-round pick Jordan Battle took over the starting job opposite Hill in mid-November.

    The Bengals also have 2022 fifth-round pick Tycen Anderson in the safety room. He missed his entire rookie season with a hamstring injury and suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 8 at San Francisco, just as he was establishing himself as the team’s top special teams performer.

    MORE: Are the Cincinnati Bengals Among the Early Betting Favorites for Super Bowl 59?

    The other safety on the roster is Nick Scott, whom the Bengals signed in free agency last March. Scott, who had played only one season as a starter with the Los Angeles Rams, started the first 10 games before losing his job to Battle.

    The safety position is young and in flux, making the hiring of Livingston’s replacement an important decision.

    Livingston will get a chance to coach against Cincinnati in his first season at Colorado. Not the Bengals, but the Bearcats, who will play in Boulder, Colo., on Oct. 26, 2024.

    As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!

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