The Cincinnati Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin hours after the team surrendered 51 points in a loss to the New Orleans Saints, multiple media outlets reported Monday.
Austin, 53, was in his first season as the defensive coordinator of the Bengals (5-4) after serving in the same capacity for the previous four years with the Detroit Lions.
Cincinnati (5-4) became the first team in the Super Bowl era to surrender 500 yards in three consecutive games on Sunday. New Orleans (8-1) finished with 509 en route to a 51-14 victory.
The Bengals yielded the second-most points in a game in club history. In the first half alone, the Saints rolled up 311 yards and had 21 first downs on 40 plays.
Cincinnati is on pace to break the 2012 Saints record for most yards allowed in a season.
Coach Marvin Lewis declined to discuss any changes to the staff after Sunday’s blowout loss.
“It’s hard to speak for today. We talked about the other things we need to do better,” Lewis said. “We need to play better, and we need to do better on third downs. I looked up (at the scoreboard) at halftime, and they were 6-for-6 on third downs. That’s the key to winning football games, and we’re not doing a good enough job right now.”
The Bengals have fired a coordinator during the season for the second straight year. The team dismissed offensive coordinator Ken Zampese just two games into the 2017 campaign.
Linebackers coach Jim Haslett, who spent 1996-2004 as either a head coach and defensive coordinator, could be a potential candidate to replace him.