12-15-2017, 12:15 AM
(12-14-2017, 11:23 AM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 8. Cincinnati Bengals
Being entrusted with the Bengals job is like becoming the night watchman at a low-budget museum. As long as you don't screw up horrifically, you'll be able to keep the job for about as long as you want. Heck, even if you do an awful job, you're probably going to get some time. Marvin Lewis has had the job for 14 years without a playoff victory, of course, but think about the guys before him. Bruce Coslet made it into a fifth year with a 21-39 record. He replaced David Shula, who made it nearly five years himself with a 19-52 mark. Cincinnati moves at a glacial pace.
The flip side, of course, is that it's difficult to really do a great job as the Bengals' steward. You won't be investing much in free agency, where disappointing recent low-cost signings like A.J. Hawk and Kevin Minter won't be encouraging owner Mike Brown to open up his checkbook. Questionable decisions, perhaps driven by a modest budget, have seen the Bengals shed talented players at wide receiver (Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu) and along the offensive line (Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler) in consecutive offseasons.
It's fair to note that six awful quarters have the Bengals here -- if Cincinnati had held onto its lead against the Steelers and shown up on Sunday against the Bears, it would be 7-6 and in the thick of the AFC wild-card race on a four-game winning streak. Lewis might be negotiating an extension.
At 5-8, though, it feels like we've exhausted the possibilities with this Bengals team. There are plenty of big names on defense, but Cincinnati is 19th in defensive DVOA, thanks in part to playing the league's easiest slate of offenses. The Andy Dalton breakout from 2015 looks more and more like an outlier, even if his level of play has risen slightly from his 2011-2014 beginnings. Do you want to take this job knowing that you may not have any other quarterback options besides Dalton and AJ McCarron?
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21759278/ranking-best-nfl-potential-head-coach-openings-2018
I agree with most of what you say....I disagree with ESPN Ranking as I would put Cincinnati as WORST Head Coach job in NFL....You can throw out much of ESPN paragraphs on these teams. Look, Head Coach of New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears are NFL Franchises coaches would love. ....Throw out all ESPN is talking and just break it on down to OWNER and CITY...Few want to coach in small Cincinnati and nobody wants to coach under Mike Brown. Mike Brown and Family are Dictators giving head coaches no control or power. No GM and No Scouts is also poor ownership. I can't even believe ESPN has Mike Brown rated above New York Giants and such. ESPN knows better than this. They know Mike Brown is the cheapest owner in NFL. They know what a lousy job Head Coach of Bengals is under Mike Brown. THE WORST. Mike Brown stands his ground on 2 things. He will not hire a GM and he can not see why he should pay offensive linemen. Mike Brown is the worst owner and Cincinnati is no New York. Top coaches would never work for Mike Brown. ESPN should have put Mike Brown as worst NFL head coaching job, and you throw out all the ESPN nonsense about players because a good coach will bring in his players over the long haul. Tony Dungy for example completely changed players at Tampa and Indy...Go back farther to Vince Lombardi taking over a very bad Packers team and quickly making changes. Good coaches don't mind a challenge, but they do mind an owner like Mike Brown who would stand in their way of progress.
1968 Bengal Fan
