more than just coach speak from

CINCINNATI (AP) — In his first moves as the Cincinnati Bengals coach Womens Bobby Hart Jersey , Zac Taylor hired longtime friend Brian Callahan as offensive coordinator and Jim Turner — fired by the Dolphins in 2014 for his part in a bullying scandal — as offensive line coach.Callahan's move from the Raiders, where he was quarterbacks coach, was expected. The two have known each other since college and share offensive philosophies.Hiring Turner was Taylor's first surprising decision . Turner hasn't coached in the NFL since a report commissioned by the league documented his involvement in the bullying of offensive lineman Jonathan Martin and others with the Dolphins. Taylor was on the Dolphins' staff at the time. Turner spent the last three seasons as offensive line coach at Texas A&M. He was suspended for two weeks in 2016 for derogatory comments during a football clinic for women.Taylor said he knows Turner well, giving him confidence to hire him."I think everyone gets caught in some situations sometimes that they wish they would do differently, but again, I know those situations inside and out and I feel very comfortable bringing Jim in here and all the other guys we're bringing in," Taylor said.The Bengals also hired James Casey as tight ends coach and Ben Martin as assistant offensive line coach on Thursday, three days after Taylor left the Rams for his first head coaching job.Taylor played for Callahan's father, Bill, at Nebraska. Callahan, who is a year younger than Taylor, went to UCLA but developed a friendship after meeting him."As the years went on, we gained some mutual friends and kind of started to keep in touch and kind of talked football every year at the (NFL scouting) combine and go to breakfast and talk quarterbacks," Callahan said. "We would call each other during the years if we were crossing over with teams: ‘What did you think of these guys?'"Callahan will be the Bengals' third offensive coordinator in the last three years. They finished last on offense in 2017 and were near the bottom again last season, when quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green were hurt.Taylor plans to call the plays Womens Sam Hubbard Jersey , with Callahan helping to create the offense, develop the weekly game plans, and provide input during games."The play-calling thing is really irrelevant to what the relationship is going to be and the function of my job here," Callahan said. "Outside of just the game day, I think it would be the same as any offensive coordinator in the league."Casey spent the last three seasons at the University of Houston, where he coached tight ends and special teams.Martin also was on staff with the Dolphins from 2014-15 as an offensive assistant. Since then, he's been the offensive line coach at Bryant University and offensive coordinator at Union College in New York.Taylor's hires give the coaching a much younger look than previous Bengals staffs. Taylor is 35, Callahan and Casey are 34, and Martin is 35. Turner is 54. EAGAN, Minn. — George Iloka had just sat down to eat with his wife when the call came from his agent.The Cincinnati Bengals were letting him go. So much for that quiet day off. So much for all that time in training camp perfecting the scheme. So much for the only NFL team he’d ever played for.More Vikings coverageTop Tweets: Minnesota teams send best wishes to GophersVikings sign veteran guard KlineVikings agree to terms with kicker Dan BaileyVikings add RB depth, re-sign Ameer AbdullahFormer Vikings guard Easton agrees to four-year deal with Saints“But that’s the business. That’s what we kind of signed up for. Things happen. At the end of the day, you’re just a number for the most part,” Iloka said.Fortunately for Iloka, his first defensive coordinator was interested in a reunion. The Vikings signed Iloka, a former pupil of coach Mike Zimmer Tyler Eifert Jersey White , to a one-year contract on Wednesday to add yet another accomplished player to what was the best defense in the league last season.“I’m comfortable with the system, the playbook. And this is a good team. They were real close last year. They were on the brink of making it to the Super Bowl,” Iloka said after his first practice, about five hours after boarding a plane for Minnesota. “I’m just here to help this team out anyway I can. My relationship with Zim, this facility, the kind of team that they have made it a no brainer.”The Bengals released Iloka on Sunday to clear $5.3 million in salary cap space and make way for second-round draft pick Jessie Bates III to move into a starting role. Iloka was a fifth-round pick by the Bengals out of Boise State in 2012 and played two seasons in Zimmer’s defense before the coach was hired by the Vikings. Iloka became a starter in his second year and started 76 games for the Bengals, with nine career interceptions. Credited by the team with 230 tackles over that time, Iloka is 10th on the all-time Bengals list in that category.“He’s very smart. He’s a good tackler. He’s going to be where he’s supposed to be all the time. He pretty much knows a lot of the things that we’re doing,” Zimmer said. “Most of the calls we went through today, he knew probably 85 percent of them.”All-Pro Harrison Smith is entrenched at one of the safety spots. Andrew Sendejo has mostly manned the other slot for the last five years, starting 53 games plus three more in the playoffs. He’ll turn 31 on Sept. 9, when the Vikings open the season against San Francisco. Naturally, there’s a question now about whether Sendejo will celebrate that birthday in a purple uniform, considering he’s carrying a $3.5 million salary cap hit. With Anthony Harris and Jayron Kearse, the Vikings have two backups who’ve been in their system for two-plus seasons and contribute significantly on special teams.“This wasn’t a move to replace anyone. This was a move to get as many good players as we can Clint Boling Jersey White ,” Zimmer said. “He became available, so we were fortunate.”That could be more than just coach speak from Zimmer, who has said previously he’d like to use more of his best players in different positions more often this year to maximize their impact. Smith, for example, could be used in a linebacker spot in certain packages. Veteran cornerback Terence Newman, who played with Iloka with the Bengals, has taken turns at safety.“Honestly, we’re just trying to add good football players,” Zimmer said, “and it’ll all sort out at the end.”That’s just fine with Iloka, who was looking forward to working with the hard-driving Zimmer again.“I grew up in Texas, and that’s how my high school coach was. The linebacker coach at Boise State was the same way,” Iloka said. “I’m used to that style. It doesn’t matter either way. He just has a good defense.”