A old read about Marvin coming to the bengals

[Kazkal]

Sorry Marvin Lewis: Bengals Are Still NFL's Lost Cause

Surely, Lewis must know the abysmal situation he's been hired to remedy. And surely he must know the post-Bengals fate of his predecessors (something tells me no one's knocking down doors to hire Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, or Dick LaBeau as head coach). So it's hard to find a compelling reason why Lewis would willfully walk into one of the worst jobs in all of sports.

Is it ego? Desperation? Is he simply titillated by the challenge of turning around such an awful team?

Probably a combination of the three. But one has to wonder what kind of job he could have gotten had he just waited another year.

Personally, I'd rather be George Steinbrenner's personal leg waxer than take control of this franchise.

Yes--it's that bad. Even in a good year, they're still one of the league's worst teams. Think I'm exaggerating?

Since Brown took over a first-place team in 1991, the Bungles have gone a hideous 55-137 with no playoff appearances. They're on their eighth Top 6 pick--and third No. 1--in that time. Those picks include the likes of Ki-Jana Carter, David Klingler, Dan Wilkinson, John Copeland, Peter Warrick and Akili Smith.

On the bright side, at least they've been consistent, right?

Moses may very well have parted the Red Sea, and he just might have spoken to an incinerated bush, but I'll bet even he would be hard pressed to fix up the Bungles, God's divine inspiration notwithstanding.

On one hand, Lewis may have some insight that we don't. I hope so. Year after year, the Bengals are perennial losers, and no one wants to see that. So I hope he triumphs. I hope he wins coach of the year honors and turns this laughingstock back into the contender it was before the Mike Brown regime.

But that's not what the 8-ball says.

It may not be his fault, but in taking over the Cincinnati post Lewis may be committing career suicide. He's not exactly entering the best of situations.

[bHe's got no secondary, no D-line, and no offense. He's got Kitna, Frerotte, and Smith playing QB (pick your poison), and Carson Palmer is most likely on his way. (Yes children, this is what purgatory feels like.) What's he gonna do, bring Boomer Esiason out of retirement?

Since his hiring, Lewis has been spouting off about the "enthusiasm" of Cincy's front office, and about how they really "want to win." Well, as the old saying goes, wantin' ain't gettin'. And until Brown finds someone who can competently run a football team, these Bad News Bengals are here to stay, Lewis or no Lewis.

It's not fair, but Lewis is flying head-first into pro football's Black Hole. He's trying to conquer the unconquerable.

Looking at recent history, the shelf life of first-time coaches is often pretty small. Don't expect Lewis to be an exception. If so, let's hope he gets another shot at that dream job.

Chris welcomes feedback at cbellamy@chronicle.utah.edu.

[Stripes]

Yeah, but we should definitely fire him because of an 8-8 season.

Good find, Kaz.

[Kazkal]

Ya we should fire h im screw that hes never had a losing season with 2nd worst franchise in nfl history ( I would have say cardinals are worse)

[AMC]

Don't let the door hit ya Marvin! What have you accomplished????

(Sarcasm alert!!!!!)

Nice way to start the morning Kaz. Nice article.

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, I remember that piece. Thought it was just a bit extreme, even for back then. But there were many columns along the same lines. "Marvin deserves better," etc.

Fire Marvin? No. But you have to think his seat will be a bit warm going into '07. Or at least it should be; Mikey is loyal to a fault and it usually takes a disaster of epic proportions to get him to change course (see LeBeau, Dick).

On the plus side, Lewis has gotten the team up off its back. Gone is the crony-filled coaching staff. Gone, too, are the locker room cancers. Gone is the usual out-of-shape team that needed a month of the regular season to play its way into shape. Equipment and ameneties have been upgraded. Free agents no longer see Cincy as Siberia. Pundits no longer wonder if the Bengals and The U shouldn't switch places. In short, under Lewis, Bengals fans have been given back a real, honest-to-gosh, NFL football team.

On the minus side, Lewis' attempts to add talent, particularly on defense, have met with very mixed results. Though the locker room cancers are gone, the team still seems to lack mental toughness and collapses under pressure, breaking into factions who blather about "selfishness." The Bengals are averaging just 9 wins a year under Marvin -- better than before, but not championship-caliber. Lewis' talents as an in-game coach have been heavily questioned, and the coaching staff as a whole seems unable to cope with the concept of in-game adjustments. And the team simply collapsed at the end of the 2006 season, in very ugly fashion. In short, the Bengals are a real NFL team again -- but are struggling to take the next step.

Next season should tell us a lot about whether Lewis is the coach who can get them to take that step.

[Kazkal]

"nods"

[BengalszoneBilly]

Next season should tell us a lot about whether Lewis is the coach who can get them to take that step.

Are you insinuating that next year is Marvin's "Make-It-Or-Break-It" season!?! Well it just may be!

[HoosierCat]

Are you insinuating that next year is Marvin's "Make-It-Or-Break-It" season!?! Well it just may be!

Yep -- and for the record I hope it's "make it" not "break it."

[Thurmanation]

Are you insinuating that next year is Marvin's "Make-It-Or-Break-It" season!?! Well it just may be!

Yep -- and for the record I hope it's "make it" not "break it."

As does everyone on these forums i hope..