Gruden to stay with Bengals

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has decided to stay with the organization and will not interview with other teams.

Gruden's name had been mentioned as a possible head coaching candidate with the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. However, according to several reports, Gruden said Tuesday he will not interview for any other job and wants to remain with the Bengals, the team that hired him from the Arena football league.

Many Bengals fans had never heard of Gruden when he became offensive coordinator before the 2011 season. After what he did with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton as well as the rest of the young offense this past season, he became even more popular in the coaching ranks, especially with the Jaguars. Jacksonville fired Jack Del Rio before the season ended and would like someone to help develop quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who the team drafted in the first round of last April's draft.

Had Gruden moved on from Cincinnati, not only would that have left the team with a big void to fill, but it would've meant Dalton and fellow rookie, wide receiver A.J. Green, lost the coach many credit for their success in 2011.

His name had also been tied to the Miami Dolphins, who ironically, have interviewed Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for their head coaching position. Zimmer interviewed with the Dolphins on Tuesday for the second time, according to several reports.

Zimmer's departure from the Bengals seemed more likely than Gruden's after the season ended with a playoff loss to the Houston Texans last week . Zimmer has much more experience in the NFL, has been mentioned as a head coaching candidate the past several years and he has ties to Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland. Both worked in Dallas under Bill Parcells.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also interested in hiring Zimmer as their next head coach. The Buccaneers fired Raheem Morris after the team lost 10 straight to finish 4-12.

Zimmer is one of the most respected defensive minds in the game. Cincinnati's defense finished the past four seasons ranked 12th, 4th, 15th and most recently 7th under Zimmer's tutelage.

If Zimmer leaves to become a head coach, two names to remember as possible replacements are current Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle and the previously mentioned Del Rio, a long-time friend of Marvin Lewis.