New Bengals assistant quarterbacks coach Jordan Salkin, who broke into the profession by sending out 1,500 emails colder than the Freezer Bowl, is on a hot streak.
After serving in his second season with the club as assistant wide receivers coach, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins became the Bengals’ first receiver tandem to go to the Pro Bowl in 18 years, and on Friday, Salkin became part of head coach Zac Taylor’s minor staff shuffle that brought him back home to the quarterbacks room.
Taylor announced his only addition of the offseason when University of South Carolina assistant quarterbacks coach Davis Koetter replaced Salkin with the receivers.
Two defensive assistants were assigned positions. Ronnie Regula is assistant linebackers coach to Mike Hodges, and Mike Moon is assistant defensive line coach to Jerry Montgomery.
James Casey, who has been Taylor’s only tight ends coach in his eight seasons here, is now also run game coordinator.
Taylor didn’t have to work as hard to find Salkin as Salkin did to break into coaching a dozen years ago as a volunteer assistant at James Madison. Still, Taylor counted him as a hidden gem on the rise in 2024 when he scooped Salkin from the Oregon quarterbacks room, where Bo Nix had just led the nation in touchdown passes and yards.
The NFL got a glimpse of what Taylor envisioned when Salkin had a fleeting Hard Knocks cameo in that first season, standing in front of the offense delivering one of his brisk, crisp breakdowns of the defense to start the week.
“His presence in front of the room is organized,” says Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. “He knows how to communicate a message, which, for a guy in his role, is important in terms of his growth potential as a coach. He has all that. I expect him to be a good coach in the league for a long time.”
Salkin, 33, has already been around a long time with some high-powered quarterbacks. He was in the Texas quarterbacks room when Sam Ehlinger led the Big 12 in touchdown passes, and two years later broke into the league with Miami’s quarterbacks as a quality control coach when Tua Tagovailoa found Jaylen Waddle for a rookie-record 104 catches.
But when it comes to having an impact on him, Salkin starts with the last two Bengals quarterbacks coaches, his current boss Brad Kragthorpe, and Pitcher.
“Two highly organized people when it comes to running meetings and presenting their information,” Salkin says. “Whether you’re presenting information or game-planning, or whatever it is, when you’re presenting in front of a position group, or in front of the team, I think you have to know and believe the information. That comes from spending the time on preparation. You have to show it’s something you believe in, and you have to have conviction to make the players believe it.”