Paul Daugherty on Mike Brown

[*pally*]

I thought it was an interesting insight on Mike Brown the person

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-daugherty/2022/06/27/cincinnati-bengals-owner-mike-brown-friends-life-and-reading/7725130001/

There is a baseline kindness to Mike Brown. This will come as a shock to longtime Bengals fans. He’s decent in an old-fashioned way that’s in short supply now. I’ve met a world of people in 34 years here. They’ve been mostly wonderful. I’ve known Mike as long as any of them. He’s way up on the list. If we hadn’t been adversaries, we might have been friends.*

Massive bags of black oil sunflower seeds occupy a corner of Mike Brown’s many-windowed office at Paul Brown Stadium. They’re for the birds that loiter on the ledge. Not the bird brains. Mike has been called that. Not the boo-birds. Mike has heard them. The birds. Most specifically this time of year, mourning doves.

Brown, who is 86, gets to his office every day between 6 a.m. and 6:30 six days a week (on Sundays he’s there by 8:30) and the first thing he does is feed the birds. “I only feed the birds breakfast. They get a scoop a day. That’s it. I’m not going to spend the rest of my day feeding birds.’’

Substitute the words “guards’’ or “safeties’’ or “Andrew Whitworth’’ for “birds’’ and maybe it all becomes clear to you.

“I only feed Jessie Bates breakfast. He gets a scoop a day. . .’’
We’re not here to discuss that. Not today. Many times I’ve entered Mike’s bright and sunny inner sanctum over the past 22 years, to rummage through his bright and intimidating mind for answers to why he ran the Bengals the way he did.

We’d skirmish, I’d lose. Of all the folks I’ve written about, only Mike Brown has intimidated me. It was his mind. I knew the lawyer in him had answers for every question I had, even before I asked one. I’m thinking it was like debating a Supreme Court justice.

Not on this day. That’s past us now. The Bengals are winning; I’m exiting. The verbal fencing is done. I want to know about the birds.

“The thrill is when one of the Cooper’s hawks shows up,’’ Mike said. “You’ll get a bunch of feathers down on the’’ ground. Woe to the hungry mourning dove
For years, Mike fed the birds in the backyard of his Indian Hill home. He stopped after the raccoons started ransacking the feeders. Mike fed the deer, too – “right from my hands,’’ he said – until the neighbors made it known that deer were not welcome in their gardens. Now, Mike settles for watching the squirrels plunder his apple trees.

“Doc, so what? Fans don’t care. We just want him to win football games.’’

This is the truth and it is unquestioned. But three-plus decades of skirmishing with Mike, and what I recall most is. . . is. . .

How much I like the guy. How grateful I am for our relationship. How interesting he is. How decent. How normal.

In the summer of 1988, I interviewed Mike for the first time, in the dorm at Wilmington College where he stayed, along with the players, for training camp. It was 90 degrees at least, and a little hotter outside. Mike sat in a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts. A fan blew worthless hot air around his 12-by-12 room.

The players were moving in. Every few minutes, one of them lugged a window air conditioner past Mike’s door. (All except Reggie Williams. I don’t even know if Reggie had a fan.) I asked Brown when his window unit would be arriving.

“I don’t like air conditioning,’’ he told me.

He didn’t have it growing up, he explained. He didn’t have it in his first Cincinnati home, in Glendale. When the family moved to Indian Hill, his father Paul urged his son to join the 20th century. Mike had central air installed. Then he opened the windows of his bedroom and shut the door. His wife, Nancy, fled to another room that was so air-cooled, she slept under blanket mounds.

I like that about Mike.

He still drives what I’ve termed in print a “sensible, mid-sized, American-made sedan.’’ He explained, “It gets me where I want to go. I just go from here to home and back.’’

OK, but I don’t think Elon Musk drives a Corolla to the office.

Nevertheless, I like that about Mike.

He reads books. He’s rarely without one. Nonfiction, mostly. He’s reading one now on the lives of historians. Why? Why not?

He doesn’t like to socialize, at least not in large groups. “I’ve never liked cocktail parties. They are painful. I can’t get comfortable,’’ says Brown.

I really like that about Mike. My next-door neighbor for 25 years once said to me, “I have one friend. That’s one too many.’’ We got along famously.
But mostly, Mike is a good human being. His kindness is understated, in an almost elegant way. He spent years trying to help Greg Cook, a brilliant quarterback who became a tortured man.
He has maintained a relationship with the family of Chris Henry, since the day Henry died. He urged Boomer Esiason to take the analyst job in the "Monday Night Football" booth, even as Esiason, in his second incarnation as a Bengal, had just concluded a remarkable, five-game run as Jeff Blake’s replacement in 1997. That didn’t help Mike sell tickets. It did launch Boomer’s successful media career.

Mike was kind to countless others who will remain nameless because Mike wants it that way. “I’m not a philanthropist. We give away money. I give away some minor amounts of my own. I’d rather help some individual than donate to a charity. I can see the impact,’’ he explained.

For Christmas one year, after a contentious summer of losing and criticism, current Reds owner Bob Castellini presented me with a bouquet of black roses and a bottle of Jameson. Marge Schott tried to ban me from Riverfront Stadium in 1990 and did ban me from the press dining room. Carl H. Lindner Jr. invited me to his office, schooled me on baseball economics and dismissed me with a box of notecards with his favorite sayings, most of them said by him.

Mike sent me handwritten notes. On the birth of my daughter Jillian, born with Down syndrome. On the publication of my memoir about raising Jillian. (Mike read it as soon as it came out.) And most recently, a congratulatory note on my retirement.

He writes to people, by hand. I like that about him.

I ask him if he has close friends. He said, “Not many.

“I have some that I’ve lost. I’m 86 years old, soon to be 87. It’s the nature of life. You lose your friends when you’re this age.’’

I mentioned our relationship, 35 years in its forming. If circumstances had been different …

“I think we would hit it off,’’ Mike says. “We have a lot of the same outlook on life. We don’t always agree, but so what?’’

If we hadn’t been adversaries, we might have been friends. Maybe now, we will be.

[Clark W Griswold]

Very insightful but not surprising. He won’t go down in history as a great NFL owner but he should be remembered as a good person. That’s more important in the big scheme of things. He was definately family first. I give him credit for always being comfortable with who he is and not worrying what others thought even when they were usually right. (I know that’s probably easier to do with $).

Funny that his own dad told him to get with the times. You are really old school when your old man is more up to date on things than you are.

I edited this to acknowledge that my view of him may be very different than those of you who live in Cincy and pay taxes there.

[007BengalsFan]

I don't think Mike Brown telling Boomer to go be an analyst was the nice gesture Daugherty is making it out to be. Brown didn't want to pay Boomer the money and basically told him to leave.

[fredtoast]

Daugherty has always been kind of a dick.  I can see why he might like Mike Brown.

I don't think Mike Brown is evil.  He was just hard-headed and stubborn to a fault.  He had "his way" and for decades he refused to acknowledge that "his way" did not work.

Unless you have an insane metabolism there is nothing admirable about refusing to use air-conditioning when you have millions of dollars.  It is like the dumb coaches who for years refused to let their players drink water during practice because it made them "soft".  One reason players perform better today than back in the '90's is that they know more about "recovery time" and sleep and hydration.  Having players suffering and sweltering in the heat during training camp just reduced their efficiency.

There is nothing wrong with having an inexpensive car.  I am sure it is dependable and well-maintained.

There is nothing wrong with helping specific individuals instead of giving to charities as long as he is not talking about his own children/family.

There is nothing wrong with having coaches take part in the scouting as long as it is not during the season.  In fact I would say that most coaches like having a voice in scouting the players.  But it is not a valid excuse to skimp on the scouting department. Especially when your team LIVES BY THE DRAFT.

[BengalsLUFC]

We have a saying in England to describe people like him.

“Tight as a ducks arse”

Says he doesn’t give to charity as he wants to see results, well the results for the Bengals could and should have been a couple of rings by now.

Still better late than never I guess.

[Mgbrown66]

(06-27-2022, 09:32 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: I don't think Mike Brown telling Boomer to go be an analyst was the nice gesture Daugherty is making it out to be.  Brown didn't want to pay Boomer the money and basically told him to leave.

I don't remember it that way.  At that time, being on MNF was THE COVETED job in football, and openings for that gig came around once a decade.  It was the only prime time game. Boomer could make just as much in the booth that year as on the field, and he could make it until he was an old man.

Also, Boomer wasn't too keen on coming back.  He saw the schedule the next year as being brutal.  Boomer always saw a life after football, and the time to find his life's work was upon him.

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-27-2022, 07:43 PM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: Very insightful but not surprising. He won’t go down in history as a great NFL owner but he should be remembered as a good person.  That’s more important in the big scheme of things. He was definately family first.  I give him credit for always being comfortable with who he is and not worrying what others thought even when they were usually right.  (I know that’s probably easier to do with $).

Funny that his own dad told him to get with the times. You are really old school when your old man is more up to date on things than you are.

I edited this to acknowledge that my view of him may be very different than those of you who live in Cincy and pay taxes there.

Right

Mike has a good heart. As an NFL owner his ways (old school) just didn't get it done. As much as I've complained about Mike I would like to see them get a ring before he's gone.

[WeezyBengal]

I don't like Duagherty at all (think he is lazy) but this was a decent write up I guess lol. Mike seems a bit boring to me tbh.

[grampahol]

I've often joked about Mike being evil, but in reality he is a kind man which is something money cannot buy. Many fans are woefully unaware of why the NFL is the juggernaut it is today and the out sized influence Mike played in creating it..

[Sled21]

Quote:There is a baseline kindness to Mike Brown. This will come as a shock to longtime Bengals fans

This is about as idiotic a statement has ever been written. Like Mike Brown or not, anyone who has been a long time fans knows he is kind and loyal to a fault.

[MileHighGrowler]

(06-28-2022, 12:48 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I don't like Duagherty at all (think he is lazy) but this was a decent write up I guess lol. Mike seems a bit boring to me tbh.

Mike is boring.  That's what is lovable about him.  He's not the flashy owner, with his hands in a million other things making money, he's not throwing his face all over.  He operates quietly and behind the scenes.  He's stubborn, he's loyal, he's dedicated to his life.  He's frustrating as hell, but I still find myself rooting for him to hold the Lombardi before he goes.  He's certainly not re-writing the book on the game like his dad was, but he's carrying something from the past of the game into the modern era, and I think that's cool. 

[*rfaulk34*]

Not sure exactly the point of Doc's article. Maybe it's personal and he's just talking out loud. I don't think it's any secret that he's a kind, generous man. He's also terrible, stubborn and backwards when it comes to running an NFL franchise. One of the worst in the history of sports (entirely). 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(06-27-2022, 07:43 PM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: Very insightful but not surprising. He won’t go down in history as a great NFL owner but he should be remembered as a good person.  That’s more important in the big scheme of things. He was definately family first.  I give him credit for always being comfortable with who he is and not worrying what others thought even when they were usually right.  (I know that’s probably easier to do with $).

Funny that his own dad told him to get with the times. You are really old school when your old man is more up to date on things than you are.

I edited this to acknowledge that my view of him may be very different than those of you who live in Cincy and pay taxes there.

Nice post Clark. I couldn't of said it any better. My feelings about Mike to a capital T.

[dr tarzan]

I have never been a Mike Brown, The GM, fan. Things started getting better as he let others participate. Before the SB there was a WSJ article "My Head Says Rams. My Heart Says Bengals. It’s a Super Bowl Toss-Up!"

One of the comments from subscribers was : "Can't root for any team owned by Kroenke, although from the little I've read the Bengals owner ain't no saint either."

I was compelled to set his opinion straight, thus my response:

"Don't know what you have been reading about Mike Brown, the Bengals' owner, but if there was any person in NFL ownership who would qualify as saintly, it would be him. He has been cheap and made some bad football and business decisions over the past 30 years, but nobody can denigrate his character. He goes to EVERY practice and sits alone or with family at the game. He is loyal to his personnel, frequently to the detriment of team, He never makes a phony contract designed for cap space, when a player signs a Bengals contract, they know it will be honored. Did you not hear his magnanimous Lamar Hunt trophy acceptance? He won't sell his soul for a profit. The stadium in which the Bengals play is still named after his Father, not some corporate sponsor. Say what you will about his GM skills, but his character is beyond reproach."

[samhain]

I've always had my problems with Mike Brown and his running of the Bengals. That said, as a person I've always respected his stubborn, authentic persona. The dude is who he is, and he has a ton of self awareness. His ways are his ways and he generally doesn't change them for anyone.

He's said a lot of things that we as fans absolutely despised, but he never sugar coated anything. He's not deceptive or fake. He's a guy that can be taken at face value, and he's got little use for the opinions of others.

As much as I've bashed him, I think it would be great for him to see the team win a title before he checks out. It would really be something for one of his final accomplishments to be seeing a city that hated him for decades forgive and thank him for bringing a title.

[Shake n Blake]

I spent 30ish years *wanting* to like Mike. He made it pretty difficult. I believe all the people who say he's exceptionally kind irl. The problem was that he wasn't kind to the fans. He was very dismissive towards our concerns, when he had all the power in the world to quell them.

He often was defiant in the face of losing and even defended it. Could've had a team HOF, ROH, practice facility, more scouts, etc, but was more loyal to his own stubbornness than the fan base.

All this said, I was still happy to see the man hoist an AFC trophy and see some success before he passes on. I'm sure he cares in his own sort of way, and I certainly don't hate the man. He's usually spot on with how I feel about league decisions, etc. I just wish he wouldn't have been so stubborn on team related issues.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-01-2022, 04:25 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I spent 30ish years *wanting* to like Mike. He made it pretty difficult. I believe all the people who say he's exceptionally kind irl. The problem was that he wasn't kind to the fans. He was very dismissive towards our concerns, when he had all the power in the world to quell them.

He often was defiant in the face of losing and even defended it. Could've had a team HOF, ROH, practice facility, more scouts, etc, but was more loyal to his own stubbornness than the fan base.

All this said, I was still happy to see the man hoist an AFC trophy and see some success before he passes on. I'm sure he cares in his own sort of way, and I certainly don't hate the man. He's usually spot on with how I feel about league decisions, etc. I just wish he wouldn't have been so stubborn on team related issues.

For sure.