Jerome Bettis: Management Needs To Evaluate Coaching And Personnel

For most Bengals fans that's been around since the mid-90s at least, it's very possible that you remember former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. From 1996 through 2004, Bettis recorded 100-yard rushing performances in 10 of his first 17 appearences against the Bengals. He also had a streak of five straight 100-yard rushing games dating back to his rookie season in 1993 with the Los Angeles Rams. Bettis also scored 17 rushing touchdowns in 20 career games. Saying he's been a pain in our collective asses would be an understatement.

If anything, Bettis has seen this fumbling Cincinnati Bengals franchise go from bad, to awful to down right hysterical. Now that his playing career is over and he's being paid to provide an opinion, the former Steelers running back takes aim at the Cincinnati Bengals.

Management needs to evaluate both coaching and personnel, starting with Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer. In Lewis' case, 90 percent of NFL coaches would probably have been fired by now. But not in Cincinnati, where, internally, expectations are low and wallets are thin.

I know what you're thinking. Why should I care what Jerome Bettis is saying about the Bengals? After all, he's a former Steeler and he's just making fun of our team. Reality is, he's right. If Lewis provided the same results with any other team, most likely he'd be fired by now -- probably after the 4-11-1 season in 2008.

Yet, Bettis believes that the team has to reexamine themselves from the top down. Next stop. Quarterback and the team's overall offensive philosophy.

I'm not as confident in the future of Palmer. Quarterback is one of several positions the Bengals need to take a long look at in the offseason to determine the direction of this football team. The addition of Terrell Owens hasn't worked. His production has been there, but by pairing T.O. with Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals put too much emphasis on their passing game. They were a playoff team powered by Cedric Benson and the running game in 2009, but they've gone away from that.

Finally, the offensive and defensive lines.

The offensive line and the defense have been very problematic, too, but I actually think this could be a quick fix. The perfect example to go by is the Steelers, who, like the Bengals, had plenty of talent but lacked leadership and enthusiasm last season and missed the playoffs. They recommitted to Steeler football in the offseason and have carried through on that commitment into this season.

You might not like him, but most of what he said has been echoed on this very site many times over.