Bengals Fire Head Coach Dick LeBeau
siliconinvestor.com
By JOE KAY 12/30/2002 11:57:33 EST
Dick LeBeau was fired Monday as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, who became a national laughingstock as they stumbled through the worst season in franchise history.
LeBeau was the first NFL coach fired after a topsy-turvy season in which nearly every team other than the Bengals contended for the playoffs well into the season.
The Bengals finished last in the league at 2-14. Their pratfalls made them a punch line and undermined LeBeau's security with an owner who resists change.
Owner Mike Brown said Monday there will be no changes in how the team operates. The Bengals have not had a winning season since he took over for his father in 1991, but Brown will not bring in a general manager.
"I've considered many things," he said. "Do I intend to do that? No, I do not."
He also said there would be no changes in how the rest of the front office or the scouting department - the NFL's smallest - is run. The only significant change will be the head coach, a change that hasn't worked in the past.
LeBeau's contract was up after the season. He was informed that he wouldn't get an extension during a Monday morning meeting with Brown. Several of his assistants are under contract through next season, and Brown anticipates that some of them will be on the new coach's staff.
LeBeau tried to build around defense and running back Corey Dillon, but the team went 12-33 (.267) in his three seasons, the worst winning percentage by any of the eight coaches in team history.
"I got the job, I kept it for three years, and I lost the job," LeBeau said. "In between, I worked as hard as I could. End of statement. End of story."
Four head coaches have left since Brown became general manager in 1991. None has been able to win.
Sam Wyche had a blowup with Brown and left after the 1991 season, which ended with a 3-13 record and started Cincinnati's run as the NFL's worst team. Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet and LeBeau also failed to get the Bengals out of their rut after they got promoted as assistants.
Shula lost 50 games faster than any coach in NFL history, going 19-52 in 4 1/2 seasons. Coslet replaced him, but quit three games into the 2000 season, opening the way for LeBeau to get his first head coaching job.
His firing probably had more to do with attendance figures than the won-loss record. The Bengals finished their home schedule by drawing the three smallest crowds in Paul Brown Stadium history, a sign of their crumbling fan support.
"If we disappoint them, it is a critical problem for us, and we disappointed ours more than we ever have in our history," Brown said. "It's left us in a spot that's regrettable and one that we have to turn around."
At the opening of minicamp last May, LeBeau donned a Superman outfit and burst through a banner that read "Bengals Super Bowl 2002."
But the quarterback position turned into LeBeau's undoing. The front office brought in Gus Frerotte to compete with Jon Kitna and Akili Smith for the starting job, leaving the position unsettled.
Frerotte won the job, and the Bengals opened with a different quarterback for the fifth straight season. It was a disaster.
The right-handed Frerotte provided the season's signature moment by throwing a pass with his left hand, resulting in an interception that set up Cleveland's victory in the second game.
Frerotte was benched during a 30-3 loss in Atlanta, a nationally televised Sunday night game that left the Bengals 0-3 and hardened their reputation as the Bungles.
The loss turned the Bengals into grist for comedians' monologues coast-to-coast and prompted LeBeau to make a panic move. He promoted Smith from third-string to starter for the next game against Tampa Bay.
Smith was understandably rusty, and the Bengals' offensive line got manhandled in the Bucs' 35-7 win.
A day later, Kitna blasted the team, saying it had "created a monster" by failing to commit to one quarterback. Kitna also said the locker room was divided, with some players favoring one quarterback, others preferring another.
LeBeau acknowledged his mistake and turned back to Kitna, who finally got the offense rolling - too late to save the season or LeBeau's job. |
