Who's Calling the Shots for the Bengals? Hint: It's a 5-headed Monster

[BengalChris]

(03-28-2019, 11:58 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 1. How does the process in free agency work with a franchise like Cincinnati?

"We sit down and talk about our roster in and out. What is best for us? What do you think? What do you think? ‘OK we like this guy, let’s pursue this guy.’ It has been as clear and open communication as I’ve ever been around. I’ve got a ton or respect for (Bengals player personnel director) Duke (Tobin) and his staff. They are diligent workers. Tireless. It’s been a really fun process for the whole coaching staff. There’s no egos involved. That’s the key. Everyone can say how they feel. Have an open discussion about it and then proceed accordingly. That’s been really fun to go through with Duke and his staff."

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2019/03/26/cincinnati-bengals-zac-taylor-nfl-owners-meetings-andy-dalton-bobby-hart/3283660002/

Wow! The perception from the outside is more like this:

"We sit down and talk about our team, then we are given a free agent budget and maximum contract sizes, then we are given a value for our own free agents and if anyone else offers more than our value then we'll just pretend they were never here, then we are given a list of players Mike Brown prefers because they've been cut by other teams or are our own cheaper free agents or guys who are desperate enough to sign a one year prove it deal, then, with that microscopically short list of players we bring them in, kick their shins and see if they holler and we sign them if their agent hasn't warded them off and they actually agree to come play here and not bad mouth Mike Brown."

I didn't just make that up, by the way. I just noted down the team's actions that we witness year after year. It's all too predictable.