Hue Jackson has said that he is "very excited" to take over as the the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator.

The 48-year-old, who has been with the team since 2012, spent the 2013 team as running backs coach and will take charge of the offense following Jay Gruden's departure to become the Washington Redskins' head coach.

Jackson told reporters: "I'm very excited. What a tremendous group of players, having been here the last two years, working on defense, getting to know the defensive players, meddling in the offense with some of our guys, and then having the opportunity to come over on offense and coach the running backs, and be around our quarterback, offensive line, tight ends and receivers. It makes it a really smooth transition for me, because they kind of know me and I kind of know them.

"At the end of the day, we're still going to do everything to take our best players and give them opportunity to be special. We're going to try and create an environment for these guys to be great, and that's what [head coach] Marvin [Lewis] is all about.

"We know we need to run the football. We want to run the football. I think that's where it starts. That's what he preaches. From there, we have some very talented players on the outside. We have to give them opportunities to make plays. We're not going to shy away from having to throw it when we need to. In order to win and be a very good offensive football team, you have to be able to run the ball, and that's going to be a starting point for us."

Jackson joined the AFC North side after being fired from a one-season spell as the Oakland Raiders' head coach.