TK Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1700-2003Nov20.html Going on the Offensive Defensive Guru Lewis Attacks Bengals' Culture of Losing By Leonard Shapiro Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 21, 2003; Page D01 Coach Marvin Lewis is forcing people to reconsider how they view the usually hapless Bengals, now tied for first place in the AFC North. CINCINNATI As one of the longest-suffering members of the Cincinnati Bengals -- a team that knows a thing or two hundred about suffering -- veteran tackle Willie Anderson was clearly the man to present Coach Marvin Lewis with a memento of the team's stunning upset of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The Bengals, more commonly known as the Bungles during their years as an NFL embarrassment, had just beaten the Chiefs -- gunning to go 10-0 -- and Anderson handed Lewis an orange-handled shovel, a visual reminder of what Lewis has been preaching to the team since he became its coach in January. "That's been our motto, his motto -- keep shoveling the dirt, keep shoveling the coal and good things will happen," Anderson said, with the shovel appropriated from the stadium groundskeeping crew propped against his locker. "The man was prepared for this job years ago, and all we're going to do is keep digging, one pile at a time." At the start of the season, they appeared to be digging only another Bengalesque hole -- starting 0-3, then 1-4. But in a tough overtime loss to Buffalo on Oct. 5, the team showed promising signs. Now, after winning four of their last five games, the 5-5 Bengals -- 2-14 a year ago -- are tied for first place in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens and have their best 10-game record since 6-4 in 1990. They beat the Ravens in their first meeting, an emotional day for Lewis, who spent six years as an assistant coach in Baltimore and was the architect of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history during the team's 2000 Super Bowl championship season. But beating Kansas City was even more special. "I think it meant everything to him," said quarterback Jon Kitna, who plays while the team's No. 1 overall draft choice, Carson Palmer, learns the pro game and backs him up. "He's seen the fruits of his labors. He fights for us, he gets things for us we haven't gotten in the past. He's never wavered in his faith in us. . . . You can't challenge his authority, but you feel like he's in it with you. I love that guy." There were few dry eyes Sunday in the locker room. Lewis choked up momentarily -- and the tears quickly spread to his players -- as he awarded a game ball to team owner Mike Brown. Now one of three black head coaches in the league, Lewis had been frustrated in 2001 and 2002 by not being offered a top job. He finally was picked by Brown last Jan. 14 at the urging of his daughter, executive vice president Katie Blackburn, and her husband, Troy, the team's director of business development. Brown, often accused of running the team like a mom and pop store, has essentially stepped out of the way. He has allowed Lewis the freedom and the budget to begin rebuilding a team many believe Brown helped destroy with personnel moves throughout the organization. This was something of a bold move for Brown, particularly because Lewis had not been a head coach in the NFL, even if he had meticulously prepared for it as an assistant for three teams over the previous 11 years. Lewis told his players after the Chiefs game that he had given Brown the game ball because "of the ability he's given me to direct you guys and make [them] feel like they're NFL players." The next day, Lewis added: "He's taken all the heat for so long, and it probably wasn't all his fault. He doesn't play or coach. He was very excited." Brown declined to comment through a team spokesman and has avoided any public comment about his team and his new coach, choosing to make Lewis the public face and voice of this organization. Lewis also is the man making most of the decisions -- with Brown's advice and virtually unanimous consent -- affecting the football team. "Mike wanted someone to direct the team, put a plan in place and take him out of the mix," Lewis said in an interview this week. "When I flew back to Baltimore [after interviewing for the job], that's how I felt about what he was looking for, without him ever saying it to me. He was interested in the things we'd done in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. I never felt he would not relinquish this, or that we would not be able to do that. "I talk to him every day. I enjoy the man. He gives me insight. . . . It's like talking to your father-in-law, you just listen. It takes me growing to learn how to listen, too. . . . Katie and Troy have been my sounding board and I couldn't do it without their support. I was able to say, 'This is how this guy did it and that guy did it and this is the way the Bengals will do it.' Everyone has bought into the Bengal voice." Including fans. A team used to playing in front of thousands of empty seats and Sunday home game TV blackouts for years had the third sellout of the season at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. "People want to have fun, and we want to have fun," Lewis said. "I had a feeling people weren't enjoying coming to the stadium. But there's no question the atmosphere was there" last Sunday. Lewis quickly put his stamp on the operation, bringing in nine new assistants within a week of his hiring and firing two popular assistants, Ken Anderson and Tim Krumrie, who had been revered players for the team, as well as a popular weight coach who had been in the position for 28 years. Several scouts were added, with more likely on the way. He oversaw a $250,000 makeover of the weight room, made 40 public appearances in his first six months and helped court the business community. He also invited a number of past Bengals from the team's moderately successful 1980s to a dinner with his team. Mostly he has brought the 21st century into the Bengals operation, introducing computers and power-point presentations to prepare his team and coaching staff, just as so many teams have been doing in recent years. But his best work has been getting the Bengals to believe that losing is no longer acceptable. There has been almost a 50 percent turnover on the team from opening day of the 2002 season, and 13 players on the roster, many of them brought in by Lewis, have playoff experience. That was a deliberate move to help change the downtrodden culture in the locker room, his greatest challenge. Recruiting players to come in as unrestricted free agents was not that difficult, though he was unable to persuade Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes to stay with the program. Spikes signed with Buffalo, and Lewis declined to match the $12 million offer, instead spending $18 million to bring in three new defensive starters -- linebacker Kevin Hardy, cornerback Tory James and tackle John Thornton, all major contributors. "Me coming here was him [Lewis] totally," James said. "If not for him, I wouldn't be here. I knew he was a special guy and I wanted to be a part of turning it around with him. His reputation as a defensive guy and the aggressive style of defense he plays were a perfect match for me." Hardy admitted to having initial reservations about Cincinnati, saying: "When they called, I said to myself, 'I'm not going there.' After talking to Marvin and seeing the direction this was heading, I felt like this was a big opportunity for me. When I decided, people were like, 'Are you sure you want to go there?' I didn't look at it like it was 2-14. I looked at it as a new beginning. "It wasn't a racial thing at all. It was the man's résumé as a defensive coordinator. If Marvin Lewis was a white guy and he had that kind of success, I'd want to be a part of it, too. It is more special, him being an African American who won the Super Bowl and only now is getting the opportunity. That's disappointing, but the opportunity is here now, and it's great to be a part of it." There is an opportunity for the Bengals to make the playoffs, though Lewis has cautioned his team about getting too giddy about beating Kansas City, especially with the next three games on the road, including Sunday at San Diego. The Bengals are 1-3 this season on the road and critical division games at Baltimore and Pittsburgh -- a stretch that likely will define Lewis's first season -- follow the San Diego game. "There's still a cliff to fall over," Lewis said. "There's a tendency among guys experiencing some success for the first time to have that trait . . . to throw in the towel. We're trying to coach it out of them. We've got to guard against that. We felt we'd go to Arizona [Nov. 2] and win. We had two great practices, then we lost our edge and they beat our butts. "We're not as good as people think we are, or as bad. We just want to push forward and up. I'm going to push harder. We've got to be mentally tough. You have to be able to handle everything that goes on. As we mature, we'll handle that. . . . We tell them do your job and someone will make a play. Do your job and good things will happen." © 2003 The Washington Post Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 I liked the additions of Tory James and John Thornton, I thought these were guys the Skins would look at in the offseason, but instead went for other players I have to hand it to Lewis, he is laying a solid foundation based on hard work, not frontrunning and strutting players He showed the team is more important than any player by letting Takeo Spikes go and marginalizing Corey Dillon, who now is the backup at tailback............ The only thing I disliked about Lewis was the WAY he left Washington, backbiting on the organization instead of just leaving clean and saying the right things about getting a chance to be the highest paid DC in the game. He may have had his disagreements with Snyder and with Spurrier's methods of preparation, but that was no reason to make it a public issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 I wish we'd made Marv our head coach in 2001 instead of Schotferbrains... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Could'a, Would'a, Should'a Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 i love what Marvs done over there, but lets get real there 5-5, in the worst division in the nfl, they lost to the cardinals a week back, Marvs done a heck of a job but can they go on from here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigchuck Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Originally posted by riggo-toni I wish we'd made Marv our head coach in 2001 instead of Schotferbrains... I dont think that wouldve worked out because Danny and Bug Eyes wouldnt let him coach. They'd be firing guys he wanted to keep and hiring guys he didnt want. So good for him. Im glad he's where he's at.:applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 As I said in another thread, I watched the NFL Network highlights of the Chief/Bengals game and came away impressed with his coaching style and motivation. Sure....he might have been an a$$ when he left DC..... but he's a heck of a coach and a good fit in Cincy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Originally posted by bigchuck I dont think that wouldve worked out because Danny and Bug Eyes wouldnt let him coach. They'd be firing guys he wanted to keep and hiring guys he didnt want. So good for him. Im glad he's where he's at.:applause: Maybe, but remember Dannyboy gave COMPLETE control to Schothead and let him fire Bug Eyes and run the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Lewis may have the Bengals at only 5-5, but he doesn't have the talent we have either. To me he has done an outstanding job of coaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 WHatever. When has a 5-5 record in the worst divison in sports, make you a winner. What a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 the Bengals have won 4 of 5 after a 1-4 start, seems a lot like the kind of streak the 1981 Skins and 1990 Cowboys got on, just as their coaches and players were starting to feel comfortable Lewis may be 5-5 but the way he has gotten to that record, by motivating guys and having them show steady improvement is in my mind superior to the situation you have in Washington where the club started 3-1 and then LOST 4 in a row by some lopsided scores and then can't hold a 17-13 lead against a team that needs a TOUCHDOWN and not merely a field goal with less than 2 minutes left on the clock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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