Jordan Kovacs, Brad Kragthorpe, and Justin Rascati are promoted by the Bengals.
The Bengals have made three coaching moves on Zac Taylor’s staff.
The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Thursday that Jordan Kovacs has been promoted to secondary/safeties coach, Brad Kragthorpe has been named quarterbacks coach, and Justin Rascati has been hired as the team’s passing game coordinator.
The organization has added a new position to its staff: passing game coordinator. Kovacs will replace Robert Livingston, who will presumably take a job as the defensive coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes. After Dan Pitcher was recently elevated to offensive coordinator, Kragthorpe took up his role.
Rascati joins Cincinnati from the Minnesota Vikings, where he served as assistant offensive line coach for the previous two seasons (2022–2023). He was previously employed by the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 21 as an offensive quality control coach.
Rascati worked as a college assistant for seven years before entering the NFL coaching ranks. He was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Weber State University (2012–2013), the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at University of Tennessee–Martin (2014–2015), and the offensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech University (2016–17).
In 2003, Rascati started playing quarterback for the University of Louisville before moving to James Madison University. In his three seasons at JMU (2004–06), he completed passes for 5912 yards and 51 touchdowns. In 2004, he played a major role in leading the Dukes to a 13-2 record and the program’s first FCS national championship.
In 2023, Kragthorpe wrapped up his sixth season as a member of the Bengals coaching staff, his first as an assistant quarterbacks coach. After working as an offensive assistant in 2019–20, he was the assistant wide receivers coach for the preceding two seasons (2021–2022).
While working with an offense that included Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Kragthorpe served as an offensive analyst at Louisiana State University during the 2018 season. At Utah State University, he started his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant coach (2016–17).
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After playing for Idaho State University for one season (2011), Kragthorpe transferred to LSU to complete his remaining three years of eligibility. He was a placekicker and backup quarterback for the Tigers in 25 games.
In 2023, Kovacs’ fifth season as a Bengals coach came to an end. He was the defensive quality control coach from 2019 to 21 and the assistant linebackers coach for the last two seasons (2022–2023). Similar to Kragthorpe, he showed intelligence, leadership, and developmental qualities that were helpful to the coaching staff.
After serving as a coach at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, for two seasons (2017–18), Kovacs moved to Cincinnati. There, he finished his collegiate career as an All-Big Ten second-team selection after starting as a walk-on.captain.
Kovacs was a safety with the Miami Dolphins for three seasons (2013–15), appearing in 28 NFL games. He also played preseason games with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams in 2016 in addition to being a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 2014.
