Marvin Lewis Extension in 2010 after 4-12 season
Over the past year, I have nearly wrote several posts about Marvin Lewis' turning point in Cincinnati. Living in Kentucky, I've seen first hand how his tenure has played out. It is not what is seems. Lewis' journey has been one of endurance and patience to overcome a team run by a family filled with pride but lacking in modern NFL expertise.
Cincinnati is a classic tale of a small market team with insufficient funds to compete on an uneven playing field year in and year out. Before Lewis, Cincinnati was the classic small school of NFL football. Every 10 years or so, they would have a chance at a playoff run. The right combination of free agents and matured draft picks at the end of their rookie contracts would blend into a team that could produce a playoff appearance. Maybe even a victory.
Being a small market team and in direct competition with the Big Red Machine in the same stadium, the Bengals could not afford to keep their own drafted stars or purchase more than 1 or 2 decent free agents in a given year. Compounding the problem was the Brown family's reluctance to allow anyone's opinion on drafting other than their own. The Brown's drafted the players and Coach X was tasked with winning with those players, regardless of scheme fit or team need. Many coaches have failed. Many retread stars have played on overpaid contracts simply to fill seats.
Keep in mind, their small budget and operating income even deprives the team of proper facilities. For decades, the Bengals have conducted yearly Training Camps at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY. It is not even Division I facilities.
Marvin Lewis was one of the league's championed minority hirings. And he took a job considered to be the NFL graveyard for coaching and players. But his task was one probably one of the hardest in the NFL: Win were very few can with players you don't pick and ones no one else wanted.
For 8 years, Lewis played the script better than most had before him. Carson Palmer's injury derailed a promising collection of talent. And a few years later the whole collection derailed and a 4-12 season was all to show for Lewis' last year of his contract.
Instead of begging for a new contract, Lewis did the unthinkable and went to the owner asking for more money, more control over personnel and better facilities. What he didn't receive immediately, he got promises. And since then, Cincinnati has begun to transform into an organization with better drafting, sustained success and a destination for free agents in their prime and not in their twilight. They are keeping their own drafted prospects instead of losing them in free agency.
Cincinnati finally built separate stadiums for the Bengals and Reds. The Bengals now host their own Training Camps in their stadium. No longer needing the Georgetown College facilities.
Lewis has climbed a big mountain. And while most fans look at his overall record and bad seasons as signs of bad coaching, they miss the point. Marvin Lewis' first 8 years were him playing ball with ownership. Doing the best with the talent given and proving he could win and get to the playoffs. After two 4 win seasons in his last 3, he decided to make a play most coaches would not even consider while his career hung in the balance.
Marvin Lewis changed the culture in Cincinnati. It took 8 years but he finally got ownership and the fans to understand he was the right fit for their organization.
To be honest, our situation is not much different. And regardless of how we got here, we must truly understand the enormity and scope of our problems as an organization.
Hate as we may missing the playoffs, Bully Gate, Go and Go Go, a #3 Pick who hasn't truly tasted the field, Keller's injury, a Leadership Council no longer here, this younger LB not being better than an older LB or any other reason we can come up with for losing, we have MUCH bigger issues.
We have men fighting to keep their coaching jobs and trying to maintain continuity in their staff and in the Front Office. And regardless of the names or faces, when you have people fighting for their jobs to help continue learning and building what they truly feel is a winner.... we need to let them have enough time to learn from mistakes and continue to improve us as a team and organization.
7-9 and 8-8 with at least 4 miserable losses that were in our ability to win. And we have a Franchise QB. Stay the course, let them learn, be patient. The road we are on is better than the roads we have been. Let's see where it truly goes.
Marvin Lewis changed a culture stagnate for decades. We have one too.
