The Cincinnati Bengals had a decent run with Marvin Lewis as their head coach, but something always seemed to go awry in the playoffs. Weird, terrible breaks in games were aplenty, as were inexplicably bad performances (see: Andy Dalton). Team owner Mike Brown stuck by Lewis from 2003 through 2018 despite zero playoff wins.
Needless to say, the standard has drastically changed in the Queen City thanks to Joe Burrow. Lewis' successor, Zac Taylor, has missed the postseason the last three years, but has gone to a Super Bowl and another AFC Championship Game.
Lewis acknowledged how different this era of Bengals football is in discussing Brown at length in a recent interview. However, his sentimentality created a blind spot of sorts as he assessed the so-called merits of Brown's football philosophy.
In applauding Brown, Lewis nailed the precise problem that has plagued the Bengals
Marvin Lewis partook in a podcast on the Inside Football show with Trey Wingo, and had a lot of glowing words to say about Mike Brown's alleged burning desire to win at any cost:
"Mike Brown doesn't give a s*** about money. Don't waste it. All the money goes to the football team, and that football team winning. The man has no outside habits other than reading big a**, thick books [...] He just wants to win football games. The way he wants to win, he doesn't want to mortgage the franchise on one year, one player. He sees a three or four year projection and that's different than somehow some organizations work."
If Brown truly didn't care about money, he'd be down to "waste" more of it. Brown is notoriously risk-averse. Lewis says it right there in the quote above. It's a three- or four-year plan. There is never an all-in approach to win a Super Bowl in any given season. It's a constant dance of cutting corners, cutting costs, and being stingy with in-house talent at the negotiating table.
Did the Bengals shell out big money for Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins? Did they wait a full year too long to do so with Chase? Also yes. Did Higgins have to resort to a trade demand to get his deal over the line years after he was extension-eligible? You betcha.
The Bengals and Brown make it way more difficult on themselves at every turn than it needs to be. Lewis saw that firsthand during his tenure. He could get Cincinnati to the playoffs, but everything would need to go right to even reach the Divisional Round, which Lewis never did.
I believe Lewis a stellar coach. All he managed were seven one-and-done playoff exits, and didn't post a single winning season in any of those other years.
You'd think that would make him harbor more resentment than anything else. But at least it does eem like Brown and the Bengals' brain trust are changing their ways.
Marvin did nail the distinction between the Carson Palmer and Joe Burrow eras
Marvin Lewis saw firsthand how Brown's lack of desire to "waste" money resulted in franchise QB/past No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer successfully force a trade out of town. Lewis also watched great players like cornerback Johnathan Joseph, left tackle Andrew Whitworth, and others flee in free agency after low-ball offers from Cincinnati.
This offseason for the Bengals was a massive departure from their standard SOPs. They spent meaningful money to upgrade the defense, and even gave up the 10th overall pick for All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. Lewis fully believes Burrow's appeals to the organization to do more are being heard loud and clear:
"When the thing happened with Carson Palmer, we lose John Joseph in free agency, we lose Andrew Whitworth in free agency...every time something like that happens, it triggers another response from upstairs to do it a different way. [...] Now with Joe [...] I'm telling you, his words trigger action. Ain't no question in my mind they trigger action, because [Brown] loves quarterbacks and he wants to win in the worst way."
Whitworth himself has implored Brown to take action and go all-in for a Super Bowl, lest he have another Palmer situation on his hands. It finally happened. The Bengals actually did it. Only took hitting Brown's 90s for something to change! Better late than never I guess?
No but really, Lewis and Brown recognize that Burrow is a legit generational QB. Cincinnati can't afford to lose him, or endure the PR nightmare of yet another superstar demanding a trade.
A switch seemed to flip in Burrow when he saw Jessie Bates leave the Bengals in free agency. Bates is an elite safety who had a great relationship with Joe Shiesty. Cincinnati hasn't recovered at the position since Bates' departure. We're all hoping Bryan Cook will be the answer in 2026, but the jury is still out.
Bottom line: Brown should still be held to a higher standard
Here's the point I want to end with, though: Mike Brown has not fully maximized the Bengals' ability to lift the Lombardi Trophy throughout his lengthy tenure presiding over the team. Not even close. I'm stunned Marvin Lewis defends him to the extent that he does.
It took Joe Burrow's arrival to elevate the franchise's standard to a championship level. If not for him, the Bengals would be stuck in their perpetual Antiquated Age that preceded his arrival and bled over too much until Burrow himself decided enough was enough.
So to punctuate everything, here's what we all gotta do as a fanbase: Continue demanding too much. Overshoot our loftiest ambitions. Because Mike Brown and the Blackburn family will fall short of them far more often than not. As long as we stay on them and apply the pressure, though, they should cave to the fans and continue this far more promising trajectory established this offseason.
One proactive offseason isn't enough. Brown is 91 years old and shouldn't be on some three- or four-year plan. If he wants to honor his buddy Lewis, he'll continue to go full tilt, listen to Burrow's calls to action and urgency-themed messaging, and at long last, deliver a Super Bowl to Cincinnati.
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