Hue Jackson has made the move from Bengals running backs coach to offensive coordinator in the wake of Jay Gruden’s departure to become the Redskins head coach and one of his charges from last season is excited about the change.
Running back Giovani Bernard said he thinks Jackson will bring the “different intensity” he had with running backs to the entire offense. Bernard thinks that the change will prove to be a benefit to the team next season.
“We just got to go into it with an open mind, and [Jackson’s] going to create this craziest playbook ever, but it’s going to be fun. I’m excited for it,” Bernard said on NFL Network Thursday.
Jackson found creative ways to deploy the run game while in Oakland and a repeat of that in Cincinnati would bode well for Bernard. Even if Jackson’s fondness for Darren McFadden leads the free agent to Cincinnati, that’s likely to impact BenJarvus Green-Ellis since Bernard flashed plenty of ability during his rookie season.