Why is the Bengals Job Viewed as Such an Undesirable One?
As some NFL teams continue to scramble to find their next head coach, candidates must consider the destination AND position they are being offered.
In their rankings of the head coach openings for 2019, ESPN Ranked Cincinnati as the worst head coach opening, which angered many Bengals fans in the process. Why though, with a team that is clearly more talented than four other members of this list (Denver, Miami, New York, and Arizona) is the job viewed so unfavorably?
The ESPN piece continues to say “The Bengals have been so set in their ways of operation that a new coach could have less opportunity to create his own culture. It’s why the team has seemed most focused on candidates with strong ties to the team. That makes this job less appealing from afar.” Any person not directly involved in the Bengals organization would also get this interpretation from the team. Mike Brown is notorious for resigning players simply because he is familiar with them, sitting back and not making moves during free agency, and as of late, he hasn’t drafted as well as some fans would hope.
Somebody who wants to coach the Cincinnati Bengals is going to have to put up with a pretty stagnant roster, little in the way of money to spend, and a front office who has failed to deliver quality first round picks in each of its last two drafts. This isn’t to say that missing on picks will cost you a coach, but couple it with the refusal to spend money during the free agency process, and you certainly are not making your job look very attractive.
If the Bengals front office wants more attractive head coaching candidates, then they are going to have to make the job a more attractive one. This starts by declaring a willingness to spend money on certain free agents, as well as being dedicated to getting their picks right come April. If these things don’t happen, I fear that the next coach could face the same uphill battles that plagued Marvin Lewis’ tenure.
Want to read more on the Bengals coaching search? Check out some of our other articles below!
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