Three years ago.

[Shake n Blake]

(11-12-2021, 03:40 PM)TecmoBengals Wrote: It's not fair to compare W/L records? I suppose I could support this view when comparing them based on their first three seasons of coaching, but even then it comes down to does the coach win or lose? Understanding the "why?" behind the Ws or Ls doesn't change the outcome. Zac is more aligned with Shula and Coslet than Marvin. Zac has an opportunity to change his W/L this since the Brown family has kept him around. Perhaps we'll see in a couple seasons if his records inches closer to .500.

You said Marvin needed to reshape the defense, but Zac had to reshape the entire team. I think Marvin had to reshape the entire franchise. He inherited a poorly run franchise that hadn't made the playoffs in over a decade. Talent alone didn't end the drought, Marvin's coaching contributed to the success. I'll hold my view that Marvin is better than Zac based on W/L %.

Sometimes I think Marv gets a biiiiiiit too much credit for reshaping the franchise. I think that change was already underway. The evidence is:

1. They'd already hired Duke Tobin, who was doing a bang up job in the draft. The 2001 draft (Justin Smith, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, Housh) is probably the best draft in team history.

2. Katie made the choice to hire Marvin Lewis. This shows that Mike was already starting to slowly release his death grip.

3. Just look at the coaches we were looking at. Denny Green. Tom Coughlin. Marvin Lewis. They were all quality. Unlike the 90s when we hired guys with poor resumes. Dave Shula was terrible. Coslet was a terrible HC with the Jets. Lebeau was a great DC, but he clearly was never HC material. We went from that, to looking at the 3 most premier names on the market?

4. The fact that the Bengals were WILLING to give Marv so much control from day 1.

-----------------

I know people loathe excuses, but I think it's clear Marv took over a team that was more ready to win than the one Zac inherited. They were both rebuilds, but I think Marv's was a short rebuild, while Zac's was more like a 76ers/Browns style rebuild.

Just to clarify: This isn't me saying I approve of the job Zac has done. I still think we're slightly underachieving this year, and I place blame on Zac for not pressing harder to fix this o-line.