Ninety-four days have passed since the Cincinnati Bengals employed someone with the sole title of defensive coordinator.

Marvin Lewis fired Teryl Austin last season in November and the defensive hangover carried through the head-coach transition from Lewis to Zac Taylor.

Approaching his second week officially on the job, nearly a month after he was unofficially pinpointed as the guy, Taylor still doesn't have a defensive coordinator while essentially the entire offensive staff is in place.

The first tier of top candidates – Jack Del Rio, Dom Capers, Dennis Allen and Vance Joseph – didn't work out.

Del Rio wanted the job and likely would have accepted if offered, according to sources, but Taylor’s call was that Del Rio, the former head coach of the Jaguars and Raiders, would not be the right fit for the position.

Instead, Taylor focused on Saints DC Allen, an ambitious reach considering New Orleans was on the verge of the Super Bowl the last two seasons and should contend again next year. Allen was considered the home run hire, but he turned Taylor down to remain in New Orleans. Allen got an extension out of the deal and prying him away would have been near miraculous.

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Conversations between Capers and the Bengals, according to sources, never seriously took off as both sides mutually realized they weren’t fit for each other.

Joseph interviewed for the head coach position and club interest existed for a defensive coordinator role, but once the Bengals went the other way toward Taylor, Joseph quickly joined Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona before anything could move in a DC direction in Cincinnati.

The second wave of options, including former Falcons coordinator Marquand Manuel, Rams assistant Aubrey Pleasant and Florida Gators DC Todd Grantham, were made clear this week.

Grantham, the former Cleveland Browns DC, became the focused target and interviewed with Taylor and the Bengals Tuesday and Wednesday.

Grantham, however, opted to remain in the Southeastern Conference instead of re-entering the NFL fray.

Grantham is one of the highest-paid assistants in the college ranks, and, according to sources close to both parties in conversations, while the Bengals expressed no hesitation to offer a competitive salary, Grantham's current situation at Florida provides him the opportunity to be selective. It was believed on the Bengals' end, according to sources, that Grantham appeared to be difficult to pry away from Florida from the beginning.

In Grantham's evaluation, according to a source, the Bengals defense had issues that would hamper his ability to be successful from the start in 2019.

Specifically, the source said, Grantham was concerned about the Bengals' aging defensive line and lack of linebackers. Geno Atkins, the Bengals' lone Pro Bowl selection this season, is 30. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap turns 30 later this month.

Those issues would accentuate growing pains if Grantham's 3-4 scheme was implemented after 16 seasons of running a 4-3 base defense under Lewis. The Bengals have young talent among the front seven, notably Carl Lawson and Sam Hubbard, but Grantham, according to sources, wasn't sure the personnel would immediately translate to his preferred scheme.

As he has maintained during the process, Taylor offered Grantham freedom to add defensive assistants he preferred. Grantham had a plan for the coaches he would bring with him to Cincinnati, potential moves that ultimately didn't matter. He informed Gators head coach Dan Mullen late Wednesday night he would be returning to his post, where he's set to make $1.8 million this season, per a contract extension he signed in January, according to a report by Gatorsports.com, continuing to make him the highest-paid assistant coach in UF history.

Grantham returns to the Sunshine State as Taylor's pursuit to complete his staff continues.

Pleasant and Manuel remain candidates, as well as Saints DBs coach Aaron Glenn, but all three were below Grantham in the pecking order for a reason. Pleasant interviewed with the Bengals earlier this week, and Taylor knows him better than anybody else after working together for two seasons in Los Angeles. But he's never called a defense at any level and has just eight years of coaching experience, with only two seasons as the leader of a specific position group.

Manuel, the former Bengals defensive back, has NFL experience after leading the Falcons defense for two seasons. Cincinnati is familiar with his work after playing Atlanta last season. The results of that game, a 37-36 Bengals victory where Cincinnati scored four consecutive touchdowns to open the game, and the season, which ended with Manuel relieved of his duties, speak for themselves.

As for the end to this pursuit, according to sources, Taylor has remained confident in who he wants and what he’s looking for. He’s not sacrificing on his end to force something to fit. That’s why he didn’t back off his opinion of a Del Rio match and aimed for the stars with Allen, an indication of his belief in going for what he wants and needs.

But as Taylor's second weekend on the job approaches, the opening at defensive coordinator has turned from optimism created by potential to a lingering question and optics mess.