Who is on your Bengals Mount Rushmore?

When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals, who would be on their Mount Rushmore?

There have been many great players and coaches to pass through Cincinnati at some point during their pro career.

While there will be a lot of debate for 2-3 of these spots, there’s really no question that Anthony Munoz has his spot locked up. He’s not only the greatest Bengals player of all time, but he’s also one of the best offensive lineman the NFL has ever seen. His spot is already cemented in any Ring of Honor, Mount Rushmore or all-time great ranking of Bengals.

After Munoz, you could also make a strong case for Paul Brown having his spot secured. After all, he is the man who helped bring the Bengals to Cincinnati while also being a great coach and innovator during his time.

Brown is credited as being the first coach to use game film to scout opponents and hire a full-time staff of assistants. He also helped invent the modern face mask, the practice squad and the draw play.

Perhaps the biggest impact Brown had was helping break professional football’s color barrier. All of this makes for a very strong case that a Mount Rushmore of Bengals players and coaches should have Brown among them.

As for the next two, that’s when you could really go in variety of directions. Ken Riley is one of the great cornerbacks to ever play the game.

Ken Anderson was an MVP-level quarterback who really made the Bengals a true title contender for the first time in franchise history, even taking them to one Super Bowl.

A.J. Green is well on his way to making the Pro Football Hall of Fame, making him just the second Bengal to ever earn that honor (we’re not counting Terrell Owens’ one lost season in Cincinnati).

Geno Atkins has been one of the best defensive lineman of his era, and he too could make his way to Canton someday.

Russell Bodine never missed a game in his career while starting for four-straight seasons and embodying the definition of durability.

This also doesn’t have to be limited to strictly players and head coaches. The Bengals have had some amazing assistant coaches pass through Cincinnati, including Bill Walsh, Dick LeBeau and Mike Zimmer.

All said, who would you put on the Bengals’ Mount Rushmore?