Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

The Cincinnati Bengals have hired Jim Haslett to fill the open linebackers coach position that was created when Matt Burke left for Miami.

"I'm not a screamer, yeller. I like coaching," Haslett said. "I see the game from a linebacker's eyes because I played linebacker," Haslett said. "When I was a coordinator or head coach always saw defense from a linebacker's perspective. I know what they see. I know what they're looking at. I know why they do certain things."

Haslett spent 2015 serving as a consultant for Penn State University football, but has a long history in the NFL. The 60-year-old Pittsburgh native was a head coach in the league for the New Orleans Saints from 2000-05 and was the interim head coach in St. Louis in 2008.

In a statement released by the team, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said, “Jim is just a very outstanding and thorough football coach. He has a tremendous background, including both as a head coach and a coordinator. It’s a wealth of expertise and ideas that he’s going to bring to a position group that has to be successful for us to succeed as a team.”

Haslett will take a over a room that is led by veteran starters Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga, veteran backup A.J. Hawk and P.J. Dawson, who will be entering his second year. Vinny Rey and Emmanuel Lamur are free agents.

"Both of them have great nose for the football," Haslett said of Burfict and Maualuga said. "They're powerful guys. They can run. You can tell they love the game. Until I meet them personally, just watching what I see on film, I just think it's an outstanding group."

Haslett compiled a 45-51 as the Saints head coach, including a 10-6 mark and a playoff victory in 2000. He went 2-10 as the interim coach for the Rams.

He was a defensive coordinator in New Orleans (1996), Pittsburgh (1997-99), St. Louis (2006-08) and Washington (2010-14).

In what was called a mutual parting of ways, Haslett left the staff of former Bengals offensive coordinator and current Washington head coach Jay Gruden following the 2014 campaign when the Washington football team finished 20th in the league in total defense. In Haslett's five years as the defensive coordinator in Washington, the team never finished above 13th in the league.

Haslett began his career in the NFL as a linebackers coach, first with the Los Angeles Raiders (1993-94) and then the Saints (1995).

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