D.J. Reader helped recruit new DL coach Marion Pastime to Cincinnati 

It will be a reunion in the Cincinnati Bengals Defensive Line Room next season as Defensive Tackle DJ Reader gets a second chance to work with Marion Hobby, Cincinnati’s newly hired Defensive Line Coach.

From 2011-16 Hobby worked under Dabo Swinney as Clemson Tigers” Co-Defensive Coordinator / Defensive End Trainer. There he coached Reader from 2012 to 2015 and even tried to recruit readers for Duke from high school while serving as Blue Devils Defensive Line Coach.

Hobby confirmed that Reader played a role in getting him to Queen City Interview with Bengals.com.

“I asked him directly. You know me well. Do you think this suits me well? “Hobby asked readers. “He gave me confirmation that it was.”

The reader, who was also interviewed, spoke brightly about Hobby and said, “Super happy. Super happy. Really, really good guy. Good trainer. He trained me every four years (at Clemson). Kind of crazy. I’ve known him since childhood … [He] trains hard. Boys come to work. His family is a priority. Really solid guy. He’s a tough trainer. He is funny. You have to come to work and work hard, but he also enjoys him. He’s a very cool guy. He is interesting. I am a big fan of the hobby. “

The Bengals put Hobby on Saturday just a week after Miami Dolphins decided to part with him. Hobby was Miami’s defensive coach from 2019 to 2020 and held the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2017 to 2008. His work at Clemson enabled him to return to the NFL ranks for the first time since serving as defensive coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2007.

Hobby is tasked with repairing Cincinnati’s line of defense, which helped the fourth largest shipyards (2,368) and the lowest number of sacks (17) to end up in the NFL.

Reader, who signed a four-year $ 53 million deal with the Bengals last season, Hobbies will be at the heart of fixing these issues. The 26-year-old missed most of last season with a quad injury and now his comeback year may take place under a coach he has known for almost half his life.