Of all the personalities that have come through the AFC North in recent decades, former Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad Johnson—also known as Ochocinco—stands out. A six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, he backed up his talk on the field. Now, so he claims, he’s getting back on the field in a coaching capacity.
While none of this is yet substantiated, Ochocinco claims he has secured a job on the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff. He Tweeted at midnight about a meeting with new Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce. An hour later, he shared a photo with himself and Pierce. He captioned it, “I’m officially a member of the Raiders coaching staff”.
It could just be a picture. Or he could have undertaken an actual interview and is now a coach. Apparently his partner didn’t even take him seriously when he told her about it. Under those circumstances, I suppose, you may justify any skepticism.
A 2001 second-round draft pick, Ochocinco spent a decade in Cincinnati before playing one season with the New England Patriots. He recorded 751 catches for the Bengals for 10,783 yards and 66 touchdowns. And he put up some monstrous numbers.
Over a five-year span from 2003 through 2007, he caught 462 passes for 6,870 yards and 43 touchdowns. That’s not quite Antonio Brown peak numbers, but really not far from it. And he did that before Brown entered the league. He believes QB Carson Palmer’s knee injury in 2005 robbed him of a Super Bowl ring. Palmer injured his knee in the playoffs against Pittsburgh the year the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
He has always had his critics due to his antics. People struggle to take him seriously, but he has always been his own man. Lately, he’s been doing his media thing and commenting on current NFL events. He has shared his thoughts on Steelers WR George Pickens multiple times. Other players have always held him in respect, however, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a good coach.
Ochocinco has never held a coaching job before, and the Raiders already have a wide receivers coach. Edgar Bennett has manned that position since 2018, surviving one regime change already. If he really has been hired, it would likely be an offensive assistant role.
Notably, his son, Chad Jr. is a wide receiver at Arizona St. Pierce spent four seasons rising up the ranks as a coach in that program before earning a job with the Raiders in 2022. His son joined the program in 2020, and Pierce’s jobs at the time included serving as recruiting coordinator.
This connection could work in favor of or against Johnson’s claim to have joined Pierce’s coaching staff. They obviously have ties, but that could indicate a casual, personal meeting rather than a business one. or the meeting could have combined the two.
The Steelers play the Raiders during the 2024 season, marking a fourth consecutive season. That will have now spanned three different head coaches, starting with Jon Gruden. The next time they visit Las Vegas, perhaps they will see Ochocinco’s smiling face on the Raiders sideline.
