If the Bengals and Dolphins followed the NFL’s rules regarding the hiring of head coaches Alex Erickson Jersey , they most likely wouldn’t have hired head coaches on Monday. Because they wouldn’t have had time to negotiate contracts and finalize arrangements.“No contract shall be executed, and no agreement to execute a contract . . . shall be permitted until after the conclusion of the employer club’s playing season,” the league’s anti-tampering policy states. This means that there can be no offer nor acceptance of terms before an assistant coach’s season has ended. Which means that, for guys like Zac Taylor and Brian Flores, a whole lot of things would have had to happen after Sunday night to put the wheels in motion for what happened Monday.The reality is that teams routinely ignore the rules William Jackson Jersey , winking and nodding and otherwise doing a deal without officially doing a deal, allowing for the coach or the team (in theory or, as happened a year ago, in practice) to pull the plug before pen is put to paper.The NFL decided not to change the rule in the aftermath of last year’s Josh McDaniels debacle. The fact that two more teams wandered to the wrong side of it this year make an official change to the rule even more necessary.There’s no good reason to keep the current procedure in place, if teams aren’t going to follow it — and if the league isn’t going to do anything about it.Bengals RB Giovani Bernard out several weeks due to MCL injury The Bengals won’t be seeing the backfield duo of Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon for at least a few more weeks.Just as Mixon is set to return from minor knee surgery Trey Hopkins Jersey , Bernard will miss the next 2-4 weeks due to an MCL sprain, according to Tom Pelissero.Bernard left in the fourth quarter of the win in Atlanta and couldn’t finish, though he later said that was due to fatigue, so it’s unclear when this injury happened. He’s been the starting running back in each of the past two weeks, and he played a big role in the Bengals’ comeback win over the Falcons. Mixon started in Weeks 1-2 and ran 38 times for 179 yards and a touchdown before injuring his knee against the Ravens. Bernard got just one carry in Week 1 Clayton Fejedelem Jersey , but since Mixon’s Week 2 injury, Bernard has played well as the starter. He has 34 carries for 155 yards and three scores this season.With Bernard out, rookie running back Mark Walton figures to remain the No. 2 back, though it’s possible we finally see Thomas Rawls this week. Rawls has yet to be active in a game since joining the team in Week 3.