03-17-2025, 03:43 PM
(03-17-2025, 09:52 AM)rupethereitis Wrote: Could any previous Bengals coach get this done under Mike Brown? The only one that I think would have had a chance was Marvin, and don't think he could have. I was not a fan of the Taylor hire, but Zac is responsible for a lot of the culture change for the Bengals. He's a player's coach, he's developed a family atmosphere, and he seems to legitimately care about the players, the fans, and the organization itself. Did he luck out with getting Burrow, Higgings, and Chase? Yes. Would those three have a super bowl if they were together on the Chiefs or Steelers? Probably. He has fostered a culture where these guys want to stay together and that says a lot. You can tell the players appreciate and respect him. They seem to go to bat for him. There is a ton that he can improve on; slow starts, position coach loyalty, the draft, to name a few. Some out of his control, I would imagine. I can only name one guy that, character wise, has blown up on him. Burton.
A lot of credit has to be given to the Brown family as well. They have allowed Zac to modernize the Bengals, to an extent, and you can see honest efforts in they way are doing things in comparison to the past.
Will it all work out? I still have my doubts as there are a ton of holes to fill. At least we have a shot now.
Ask yourself who is responsible for the stadium name change? It seems to me, Zac has a good rapport with the players which is important. But, he doesn’t have the juice to rename Paul Brown stadium and he surely isn’t in charge of the checkbook.
The person responsible for the name change and in charge of the checkbook deserves the credit for the culture change. By all accounts that’s Katie and Troy Blackburn. Because otherwise, this team would be no better or worse off than during the Marvin era.
