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Bengals OL coach can't get haircut without complaints about center

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Cincinnati Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander is taking issue with the fact that so many consider the center position to be a weak area of an otherwise strong roster.

Asked following this weekend's draft whether fifth-round guard Christian Westerman could make the transition inside, Alexander referenced a recent trip to the barber shop in addressing what he calls a "witch hunt" against Russell Bodine.

"It pissed me off," he said in a media session, according to Paul Dehner of Cincinnati.com. "They got three Italian barbers there all yelling at each other, they are all brothers and they are getting on me about Bodine. I finally had to tell one to eff off. Jeez, I can’t even get my haircut in peace."

Alexander described at length why he's actually been pleased with Bodine's development, seemingly indicating the starting job remains his heading into the 2016 season.

"You guys are asking about the Bodine witch hunt, right?" Alexander said. "Let me tell you about Bodine, all right? Let me tell you about him. He's better than (Clint) Boling was after two years. He’s similar to what Zeitler was. Zeitler didn't start out all that great. I was talking to (Andrew Whitworth) and talking about Rich Braham. He said, 'Hey, don’t compare Bodine to Rich Braham.' Rich Braham didn't step on the field until his third year. This is a young player who is playing in his third year with a bunch of veterans and very good offensive linemen and he's the last one right now because he's the youngest. But I don't care what anyone else says I think Bodine is a hell of a player. That's where I’m at on that."

Bodine has started in every game since joining the Bengals as a fourth-round pick in 2014.

Westerman's positional versatility will presumably give him the opportunity to enter his rookie year as the primary backup to both Bodine and left guard Clint Boling on the interior.

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