Make Your 2021 Early Season Predictions

[Murdock2420]

(05-22-2021, 01:16 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Don't really think Lebeau is a great example.  Here's why:

1.) He was initially hired as the DC and became the interim head coach.  He only got the job because Coslet resigned.

2.) You're focuing on 2 offseasons while ignoring the fact he coached 13 games preceding this when he took over for Coslet.  They had 3 years of results to consider, not 2.

3.) His last year set a franchise record for losses.  The 2-14 was worse than even David "Steakhouse" Shula.

4.) He was 65 years old when he was fired.

5.) This is the most important one: His firing coincided with the opening of PBS.  They had a brand spanking new stadium opening, coming off the heels of telling the taxpayers of Hamilton County that they needed this to be more competitive (keeping Lebeau would send a terrible message).  They also had 25,000 more seats to fill (Riverfront @ 40k, PBS @ 65k) and a bunch of very expensive luxury boxes to sell.

To each their own, but I don't think the firing of Lebeau necessarily shows much at all.  He was already an old coach and it was never supposed to be his gig in the beginning.  He had 3 years to show the front office, and more importantly the fans that he could improve the team.  That obviously didn't happen.

I don't think the Bengals had any choice but to move on.  Nobody keeps a Senior Citizen head coach, who just had the worst record in franchise history, when they're about to open up a brand new stadium.

Not to mention that even after LeBeau left here and went back to Pitt and was a great DC again, for 10 years no one came calling for his services as a head coach.

Some guys are just not cut out to be more then coordinators.