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No cool words yet, Marvin Lewis says. No T-Shirt motto to the printer just now. No Re-Boot. No House Cleaning. No Do Your Job or Pound The Rock. But as he began his 15th season coaching the Bengals Monday, Lewis left no doubt that he is driven to find out what drove his Bengals from the ranks of the postseason for the first time in six years and just for the second time since the division sweep of 2009.
Catching up with the Bengals on Monday when it comes to dealing and healing as they leave Paul Brown Stadium until April: A.J. Green gets it. Bengals president Mike Brown didn’t want him to play the final two games of the season because his partially torn hamstring had yet to heal and there was a chance he could tear the hamstring off the bone and require surgery that would ice him for at least six months.
Marvin Lewis news conference transcript
Yes, I try to meet with each one. I kind of take a different approach with some of the young guys collectively, and then single out the ones I need to grab individually, like the rookies. It’s a lot of the same message for them, the rookies and practice squad guys, but I have to get some of them individually as well. And then the veteran guys, I grab them as they go. Unfortunately this last week, I had too much time on my hands, so we got started on it earlier in the week. I told guys to carve out time for me and come see me. ‘You know where I am. I’m easy to find.’ So it was a process that I started last Tuesday.
Lewis seeks jump from coaches and eyes Green, Geno, Dalton for more
Marvin Lewis, who on Monday became the 11th man in the history of the NFL to coach the same team for 15 straight seasons, said he’s not concerned about a contract extension as he heads into his 15th year coaching the Bengals. But when he met the media Monday in the first examination of the 2017 season, he expressed some concerns
A.J. Green, who is not mad, says he won’t play in the Pro Bowl and is confident his hamstring will be healed by the time the Bengals are back on the field. After accepting the Bengals Most Valuable Player award from the Cincinnati chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America on Monday, Green said he wasn’t upset about the Bengals decision to sit him for the last two games. He just wanted to be with his family on Christmas Eve.
Adam Jones arrested on multiple charges
The calendar says 2017, but Pacman Jones is apparently partying like it’s 2007. Via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the veteran Bengals cornerback has been arrested on multiple charges.
AJ McCarron expects to be traded in offseason
As the Bengals cleaned out their lockers Monday after finishing up a 6-9-1 season, McCarron looked "like a man saying his goodbyes to the Cincinnati Bengals and Paul Brown Stadium," according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. McCarron told Owczarski a potential trade will be on his mind throughout the offseason
AFC North Bytes
Steelers Won't Announce If Other Teams Have Interest In Haley
Black Monday has arrived now that the 2016 NFL season has finished and as of right now there are six teams looking for new head coaches. In the coming weeks, several interviews will take place for these openings and one has to think Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley will be in line to get one.
Browns execs fail to take accountability for their 1-15 body of work
The day after the worst season in Browns franchise history concluded, we heard a lot of things from the men responsible for turning a 3-13 team into a 1-15 team. We did not hear, however, the most appropriate response to such an utterly unacceptable season. That response should have been, “We apologize. Obviously, we didn’t make enough right decisions. We have to do so much better and we believe we will.”
Joe Flacco not advocating that Ravens change offensive coordinators
Despite heavy speculation that Marty Mornhinweg will be replaced as Ravens offensive coordinator, quarterback Joe Flacco is suggesting a change isn't needed.
Random Bytes
Lane Kiffin Will Not Coach for Alabama Versus Clemson Anymore
Wow. Lane Kiffin will not be Alabama’s offensive coordinator for the national championship game against Clemson next Monday, the school announced today.
Bleacher Report's Expert Consensus NFL All-Pro Team
With all due respect to the Pro Bowl, and the All-Star games in baseball, basketball and hockey, those are essentially popularity contests. It isn't an insult. In all of those instances, fans play a part in selecting the teams. Those fans naturally vote for their favorite players.
NFL Free Agency 2017: An Early Breakdown of This Year's Class
After 17 weeks, 512 games and over 30,000 minutes of play, the 2016 NFL regular season is over. For 12 fortunate and successful franchises, the fun is only beginning. Teams from Dallas to Seattle and New England to Oakland are about to begin the postseason tournament, a single-elimination slugfest that will culminate in Houston at Super Bowl LI. For everyone else, it's the end of the line—for some more than others.
Few surprises, plenty intrigue as coaching carousel spins
By Monday morning, there were no surprises left in the NFL. Chip Kelly was still out, Todd Bowles was still in and Chuck Pagano was still in limbo. In fact, it was Gary Kubiak's decision to retire from coaching, bowing out of his life's work for the sake of his health, that seemed to spur the most thought on a typically tumultuous day after the end of the season. Kubiak, 55, had two serious health scares, both of which required hospitalization, in a three-year period, but it says something about the business of football that his election to step away from one of the best jobs in the game could be considered an outlier.