Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000

Bengals don’t bungle coaching situation

Hiring Dick LeBeau the first step in showing improvement

By Keith Schleiden, Managing editor

But occasionally, you get some pretty whacky questions. One last week was about the prospects of the Bengals next season, if they had a chance of getting to the Super Bowl. I didn’t answer that one.

Another asked about the prospects of the passing game in Cincinnati next year, with Scott Mitchell returning and some of their young receivers gaining maturity.

That I did answer. The questioner basically tried to lead me into saying something positive about the Bengals. I laughed, and explained that you would have to be stupidly optimistic to believe that the Bengals will be anything better than mediocre next year.

But that was before the team committed to Dick LeBeau, who had the interim tag removed from his title yesterday. Browns president Mike Brown made the surprise announcement, although he declined to discuss the length of the deal.

Brown takes a lot of heat in Cincinnati, and leaguewide for that matter. Much of the criticism is deserved, considering how awful this team has been for the past decade. But Brown deserves credit for this move. The players lobbied for LeBeau, and they got him. I don’t prescribe to the inmates-running-the-asylum style of business, but in this case, listening to the players was the right thing.

They respect LeBeau, who took over the head coaching job under tough circumstances when Bruce Coslet resigned early in the season. While the results haven’t been fantastic, he is laying the groundwork for his type of football team. LeBeau knows what he wants, and his players buy into it.

LeBeau wants to run the ball, and they do it, by golly. RB Corey Dillon is very happy with LeBeau. He lobbied for the coach. Keeping Dillon happy at this stage of the game is critical. He will be a free agent after the season, and it’s imperative that the Bengals retain him. Even though it will ultimately come down to money in contract negotiations with Dillon, keeping LeBeau could not have hurt.

"He’s my guy," said Dillon of LeBeau. "Regardless what’s going on with me as a player, it’s a good thing they went on to sign him. He’s got a lot of respect from the players. He’s doing a great job, and everybody likes the job he’s doing."

Now, if Brown can keep all the good vibes going and come to a long-term agreement with Dillon, the Bengals might just be on the right track.

Finally.

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2000 - 2001 Season