It remains to be seen whether Rod Woodson’s entry into coaching with the Bengals proves more than temporary. For now, he’s taking the opportunity as a chance to learn.
“While coaching is something that I’ve thought about, when Coach [Marvin] Lewis offered me the chance to work with the Bengals, it was important to me to take advantage of the opportunity to keep my mind in the game and up to date on any new trends for the offenses, defenses and special teams in the NFL,” Woodson said in comments to PFT.
It’s a not a career change to take lightly, to put it mildly. Lewis said that Woodson initially inquired in January, after the former Steeler decided with his wife that their kids were old enough to even consider trying it out.
“Experiencing the long days in the meeting rooms and on the practice field again has given me a refresher course on what goes into building a team, from the 5 am wake up calls to the film sessions to the practices,” Woodson told us. “I also believe these experiences will help me as an NFL Network analyst and I would recommend that all analysts take advantage of the opportunity if they get the chance.”
Woodson returns to the NFL Network in August after spending most of training camp with the Bengals. At that point, he will be in a better position to decide if he’d want to pursue coaching in the future.
“I know the commitment coaches do have to have,” Woodson told the Bengals website Thursday. “So that’s something me and my wife, we’re just going to have to talk about.”