Speaker 1: I get everybody on dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast The Room where It Happens. Addition,
Speaker 1: as we get stories from inside the Bengals draft room
Speaker 1: from a guy who is there for sixteen years, former
Speaker 1: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
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Speaker 1: post one of the most downloaded episodes of this podcast
Speaker 1: every year is Dave Lapham and I take one last
Speaker 1: look at this year's draft class before predicting who the
Speaker 1: Bengals are going to pick. But on this episode, we're
Speaker 1: talking Bengals history with a guy who spent sixteen years
Speaker 1: in the room where it happens. The NFL Draft is
Speaker 1: a week away, and it is a treat to welcome
Speaker 1: in a man who played a big role in selecting
Speaker 1: some of the best players in Bengals history, Carson Palmer,
Speaker 1: Andrew Whitworth, Gino Atkins, AJ Green, Andy Dalton, and many others.
Speaker 1: The winningest coach in Bengals history, Marvin Lewis coach. When
Speaker 1: you hear some of those names, do you instantly go
Speaker 1: back to some draft day memories?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Dan, that you instantly made me smile. There, Yeah,
Speaker 2: a lot of great draft day memories, and you know,
Speaker 2: when you're hoping that the people that we identified it
Speaker 2: would really help us are there when it's our turn
Speaker 2: to pick. And I think that's the best part of
Speaker 2: the draft.
Speaker 1: You were in a lot of draft weekend war rooms.
Speaker 1: Will you miss it next week?
Speaker 2: I was out of it, and then they drug me
Speaker 2: back in. In fact, the funniest thing is literally one
Speaker 2: of my first experiences here when I wasn't involved in
Speaker 2: the draft is getting the text messages from gms about hey,
Speaker 2: should I pick this guy now? And one of the
Speaker 2: gms I missed the text message, and now they were
Speaker 2: in the sixth round. I said, no question the fourth
Speaker 2: round about a ASU player, and you know, but no,
Speaker 2: I'll be good. It was great to be in it
Speaker 2: last year again, and particularly with the exposure I had
Speaker 2: to all the quarterbacks out of the PAC twelve. They
Speaker 2: went in the first round and have been have been
Speaker 2: very significant for their teams. I believed in all three
Speaker 2: of those guys. I thought they would be good players.
Speaker 2: I also had exposure to Spencer Ratler from high school.
Speaker 2: This year, Jackson Dark I was the first person that
Speaker 2: offered Jackson Dart a scholarship literally and so it'll be cool,
Speaker 2: but you know, No, I'll be all right.
Speaker 1: So you were there with Vegas last year, obviously with
Speaker 1: the Bengals for more than a decade in the draft room.
Speaker 1: What about prior to that with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington.
Speaker 1: Were you in draft rooms there?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I was very fortunate that, you know, really, when
Speaker 2: I started in ninety two with the Steelers with Bill
Speaker 2: Kawer and Tom Donaho and the Rooney family, that, yeah,
Speaker 2: we were in the room. And then later on as
Speaker 2: I went on to Baltimore, I was in the room
Speaker 2: as the coordinator and so forth. And in Washington, so yeah,
Speaker 2: I was always involved and I really owe it to
Speaker 2: them for them to be including me in that was
Speaker 2: great to help me in the process as I became
Speaker 2: the head coach of the Bengals because I had been
Speaker 2: included in the process.
Speaker 1: So Marvin Bengals coaches have a big voice in the
Speaker 1: draft process in Cincinnati. Was that always the case when
Speaker 1: you got there or did that evolve during your sixteen
Speaker 1: years as the head coach.
Speaker 2: No, I think it's been the case. It's how I
Speaker 2: think Paul Brown and then later Mike Stahl, Mike all
Speaker 2: the draft going that they wanted the involvement of the coaches.
Speaker 2: We probably actually backed off a lot when I took
Speaker 2: over because it would be more than double the scouting staff.
Speaker 2: And then as time went on with do Tobin taking
Speaker 2: over and doing such a great job with it, but
Speaker 2: we added his father, Bill, two or three other scouts
Speaker 2: right away when I got the job, So we kind
Speaker 2: of took the coaches out of it and just tried
Speaker 2: to focus them on areas where we felt like maybe
Speaker 2: we would take a player at that position, or a
Speaker 2: guy that maybe was an underclassman or somebody that had
Speaker 2: some issues coming out, and we tried to focus on
Speaker 2: those guys with the coaches more.
Speaker 1: Even so, your very first pick, number one overall was
Speaker 1: Carson Palmer. I assume it was a no brainer. The
Speaker 1: next quarterback taken that year was Byron left Which what
Speaker 1: stands out to you, Marvin about the pre draft process
Speaker 1: with Carson Palmer was.
Speaker 2: It was really really cool. That was you know, when
Speaker 2: I got the job, I'm sitting in the stands with
Speaker 2: the Brown family, Mike, Troy, Katie and ABPB was there,
Speaker 2: I can't remember, but and it's the Senior Bowl and
Speaker 2: Carson's playing in the Senior Bowl, and I have no
Speaker 2: idea of anything about Carson Palmer, but I'm literally sitting
Speaker 2: there with them. I think they had already offered me
Speaker 2: the job, but I had not accepted the job. And
Speaker 2: I was sitting there in practice and Mike was just
Speaker 2: doing and all over Carson and it was great. And
Speaker 2: then getting to know Carson through the process going to
Speaker 2: sc for pro day. Later on, we went back to California,
Speaker 2: had a private workout with him which was just off
Speaker 2: the charts, and we brought him to Cincinnati the two
Speaker 2: weeks prior to the draft because we had a mini
Speaker 2: camp to look for me to look at the current team,
Speaker 2: and Carson was there. Byron Left, which had already been
Speaker 2: in Cincinnati, we had Carson and Terrence Newman in town
Speaker 2: for that weekend of our mini camp, and then walking
Speaker 2: back across the street from practice on Saturday morning, I
Speaker 2: was walking with Carson and I told him you were
Speaker 2: going to be our first pick, and I said, you
Speaker 2: and I are going to be joined to here. And
Speaker 2: it was an exciting time. And obviously everything worked out.
Speaker 2: We're able to get him signed right fire to the draft,
Speaker 2: and it was great, you know, and he never disappointed
Speaker 2: with what I told before his ability was just incredible.
Speaker 1: Nobody loves quarterbacks more than Mike, and I think to
Speaker 1: this day from talking to him, he believes Carson through
Speaker 1: the prettiest ball of any of the great Bengals quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: So was it the same for you.
Speaker 2: No question about it. I used to Dan. I used
Speaker 2: to stand on the sideline prior to the games and
Speaker 2: the officials who would be doing their little warm ups
Speaker 2: where they're running up back and forth, shuffling down the sideline,
Speaker 2: and I would stand there in the white while Carson
Speaker 2: was throwing speed cutouts to our wide receivers and I
Speaker 2: never moved. And one of the officials said to me,
Speaker 2: I do your games. I've done your games. You're always
Speaker 2: standing here. He's throwing the ball and you never move.
Speaker 2: I know he never missed it. It's just boom. It's
Speaker 2: right there on the receiver's eyes. Every single time. I
Speaker 2: don't have to move out of the way. They catch it.
Speaker 2: Boom to step, boom, and it's that. And when Carson
Speaker 2: got hurt in the spring of two thousand and six
Speaker 2: and we brought in quarterbacks to work out and have
Speaker 2: them throw for us, and I just would be standing there,
Speaker 2: just shaking my head because there was just no comparison,
Speaker 2: and they had been starting quarterbacks in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: You didn't play him as rookie year. The Chiefs basically
Speaker 1: did the same thing a few years ago with Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 1: But that is the exception. Nowadays, most of the time
Speaker 1: guys drafted high play right away. If you were doing
Speaker 1: it again, would you do the same thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, probably not. But I do know that when I
Speaker 2: got the job, I had many of the veteran players
Speaker 2: come into my office and say, we don't need a Martin.
Speaker 2: We don't need a quarterback. We've got we've got kids,
Speaker 2: we don't need a quarterback because they had lived through
Speaker 2: playing with a young quarterback and they really felt like
Speaker 2: it was the franchise needed to win. They needed to
Speaker 2: win as players because they know their their lifespan in
Speaker 2: the National Football League's not very long. And but boy,
Speaker 2: I tell you what, every day and Carson they practiced.
Speaker 2: You know, Carson's just turned heads and uh, you know,
Speaker 2: so we even added I added a period on Wednesday
Speaker 2: or Thursday and Friday for Carson every week for him
Speaker 2: to be you know, he he was. He was prepared
Speaker 2: as a starting quarterback every week. Ken Zampasy, Barbara Counsel
Speaker 2: did a great job always preparing him as the starting quarterback,
Speaker 2: and and John Kitt how to be an NFL quarterback
Speaker 2: and be the leader of the team, which was great.
Speaker 2: He had a great mental in John, and but we
Speaker 2: added a period where he was against pressure from the
Speaker 2: opponents and it was five plays each day and he
Speaker 2: had to go in and operate because I read an
Speaker 2: article that Dan Reeves started doing that with Michael Vick
Speaker 2: when he was a rookie, just to help him get
Speaker 2: prepared for when he would be the guy. And so
Speaker 2: it was very beneficial for Carson. And but he just
Speaker 2: followed us every single day.
Speaker 1: And you did accomplish your objective with the team. You
Speaker 1: went five hundred, but you were in playoff contention until
Speaker 1: the final weeks of the season. It did flip the
Speaker 1: narrative for the Bengals ability to contend going forward.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really did. The guys believed, you know, they
Speaker 2: believed in Kit and that was great, and he was
Speaker 2: able to rally the troops and you know, but we
Speaker 2: were playing the Bills up there, and I remember there
Speaker 2: was a pressure team and Kit knew where it was
Speaker 2: coming and he hang on, and he held onto the
Speaker 2: ball for as long as he could and hit Peter
Speaker 2: Board with a big post and then he got down
Speaker 2: and the blitzer slid right over. And I said, oh,
Speaker 2: Carson would have been dead from that day. We did
Speaker 2: that period because I you know, we wanted to prepare him.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that was great. And then literally I remember
Speaker 2: January February whatever and called both those guys in Carson
Speaker 2: and John and said, Carson and juwe ball, now take
Speaker 2: care of it. And the rest was history.
Speaker 1: All right, let's hit on some other draft success stories.
Speaker 1: Andrew Whitworth's fifty fifth pick in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: he's gonna wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: Did you have any idea what you were getting on
Speaker 1: and off the field in Big wid Dahn.
Speaker 2: No question we did. I remember what he was wearing
Speaker 2: when we interviewed him in Indy. He had on a
Speaker 2: beautiful white polo button down shirt call or. I mean,
Speaker 2: he looked like a million bucks. And after he left
Speaker 2: the room, I said to Paul Alexander, I said, Paul,
Speaker 2: if we're fortunate enough to draft him, we won't. I
Speaker 2: won't need you. And then boy, he again never disappointed,
Speaker 2: and I'm just you know what a great player, person, teammate,
Speaker 2: mentor an extension of us as coaches Wit and Domitow Peko,
Speaker 2: but particularly with Brent, brought our team through the lockout
Speaker 2: and made it stronger. And I remember him calling me
Speaker 2: when the lockout was over and he said, I can't
Speaker 2: wait to give this back to you because he was
Speaker 2: dealing with all the issues the players had, you know,
Speaker 2: from insurance and all those other things they had to
Speaker 2: deal with during that period of time. But Andrew was
Speaker 2: the best, you know, as Carson moved on and we draft,
Speaker 2: we're fortunate enough to draft Andy. He was a great,
Speaker 2: great caddy for Andy and mentor and you know, and
Speaker 2: then he passed it on Andy, Sandy, it's your time
Speaker 2: now to be the leader.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Domata Peco. That's the same draft as Andrew Whitworth.
Speaker 1: I mean, the odds of getting your offensive heart beat
Speaker 1: in terms of leadership and the same thing on the
Speaker 1: defensive end in the same draft. It's pretty extraordinary.
Speaker 2: And I think I want to say, and I think
Speaker 2: there was another player with John Joseph also.
Speaker 1: He was the first pick in that draft.
Speaker 2: YEP, that those guys set a record for the most
Speaker 2: games played in the National Football League out of a
Speaker 2: draft class. I remember, I think there was an article
Speaker 2: written by somebody a few years ago. And I don't
Speaker 2: know who the third round pick was that year, but
Speaker 2: I know Domita was four. Obviously, with too we had
Speaker 2: the running back Kenny Irons was also a second who
Speaker 2: got hurt with the ACL injury. But I can't remember
Speaker 2: who the third round pick was, but there and I
Speaker 2: think maybe it was one other guy, but they set
Speaker 2: a record who were games in the National Football League
Speaker 2: out of one draft round by one team?
Speaker 1: Twoy ten. Your fourth pick, number one twenty overall was
Speaker 1: Gino Atkins, who went on to play in eight Pro Bowls.
Speaker 1: Do you recall if anybody in particular was quote unquote
Speaker 1: standing on the table and really trying to make the
Speaker 1: case for Gino.
Speaker 2: Oh, Zim and I both did. We literally had identified
Speaker 2: Gino as other than we knew Sue and the kid
Speaker 2: from Oklahoma were going to go at the top of
Speaker 2: the draft in the first round, and we thought Gino
Speaker 2: was going to be as good or better path rusher
Speaker 2: inside path rusher as those two guys, and so we
Speaker 2: we were so excited when he was there and we
Speaker 2: picked him in the fourth round. You know, Gino's personality
Speaker 2: of being so quiet and you know, but just you know,
Speaker 2: we brought him on as a rookie. He started playing
Speaker 2: on third down in twenty ten and then became the
Speaker 2: full start starter in twenty eleven.
Speaker 1: You must have been rolling the dice a little bit
Speaker 1: that he would be there in round four if you
Speaker 1: felt that highly about him as an interior pass rusher.
Speaker 2: Well, there was some you know, for whatever reason, there
Speaker 2: were some negative thoughts about Geno coming out and obviously
Speaker 2: his stature people doubted question that also, but you know, literally,
Speaker 2: I think you know, obviously Aaron Donald had a tremendous career,
Speaker 2: but Aaron you know, was probably just maybe a little
Speaker 2: bit more explosive obviously, but but but you know, you know,
Speaker 2: he began to he he changed how people looked at
Speaker 2: defensive tackle and uh, you know, and and and that's
Speaker 2: great and we were so so fortunate to have him.
Speaker 2: We also drafted Carlos dun Left in the second round
Speaker 2: that year, so uh, you know, we got a lot
Speaker 2: of production out of those guys.
Speaker 1: What was coach Zimmer like in the draft room when
Speaker 1: there was a guy on the board that he really really.
Speaker 2: Won patients, you know, and you know, we all come
Speaker 2: from different backgrounds. Zim basically had spent most of his
Speaker 2: NFL career with the Cowboys prior to that, and uh,
Speaker 2: you know, so he was used to people how they
Speaker 2: did it differently, and uh, you know it spent one
Speaker 2: year in Atlanta. So but you know, the thing about
Speaker 2: it is, and I told our coaches just you know,
Speaker 2: they were fortunate that Mike wanted to hear their opinion.
Speaker 2: And so just be right, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: because when we put our when we put our ticket
Speaker 2: on one of these guys, he's odd, and so let's go,
Speaker 2: let's go make him the best.
Speaker 1: I remember coach Gunther coming out of draft rooms muttering
Speaker 1: anytime a high pick was used on an offensive player
Speaker 1: instead of somebody that could help his side of the ball.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no question about it. No. No. It's funny though,
Speaker 2: because when I started in Pittsburgh in ninety two, you know,
Speaker 2: I was out of the Bill Kawer. I was the
Speaker 2: youngest coach on the staff, and none of those guys
Speaker 2: wanted a high pick because they knew they had to
Speaker 2: getting ready to play. But it's great when the coaches
Speaker 2: do want to want to get a guy that they
Speaker 2: think will help them improve on their side of the football.
Speaker 2: And it's great, you know, but not everybody can have
Speaker 2: every every round pick. You know, we got to build
Speaker 2: the entire football team.
Speaker 1: I'm sure in your sixteen years there were guys that
Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily your choice. And I'm not going to ask
Speaker 1: you to name names. But when that was the case,
Speaker 1: was it difficult to be the person that then had
Speaker 1: to go in front of the cameras and and sell
Speaker 1: the wisdom of that choice.
Speaker 2: No, damn believe it or not. And I think we
Speaker 2: got to this early the fact that the pick wasn't mine, Mike's,
Speaker 2: it was the Bangles pick. And I think that was
Speaker 2: really important. I know that when I when I got
Speaker 2: the job, that was important to Mike that we stayed
Speaker 2: unified and uh. And it was my I took it
Speaker 2: on as my responsibility too, for all of us to
Speaker 2: be involved and convince everybody why or why not? And uh.
Speaker 2: And you know, we made some errors and some mistakes,
Speaker 2: and but what we always learned from them. You know,
Speaker 2: I think one you know, taking a cornerback that didn't
Speaker 2: quite have the foot speed to do what we needed
Speaker 2: to do. You know, what we're looking for the next year,
Speaker 2: a cornerback that could do what we're looking for him
Speaker 2: to do. And so we learned from sometimes when we
Speaker 2: maybe reached a little bit and uh, you know, and
Speaker 2: those were good thing. So and that's the process is
Speaker 2: You're not always going to be right. It's not one
Speaker 2: pick or one person's choice. It was it was basically
Speaker 2: for the most part of group effort that way. And
Speaker 2: we respected that process and I thought we we we
Speaker 2: got good at that process. And Duke took it over
Speaker 2: and managed that process, which was great.
Speaker 1: What's Duke's strength as a draft guru.
Speaker 2: I think not getting swayed by popularity. You know that
Speaker 2: he lets the the video and the physical characteristics do
Speaker 2: the work. And the fact that we dove into the person.
Speaker 2: You know, the thing about the draft and the National
Speaker 2: Football League is and you can open up the hood.
Speaker 2: And we made sure we tried to open up the
Speaker 2: hood as much as we could. And uh, and I
Speaker 2: think that that part of the process, you know, Duke
Speaker 2: and I would start we would talk about that before
Speaker 2: we were go over to Indy because I had no
Speaker 2: idea who these guys were, and he would give me
Speaker 2: a little bit of a preview myself personally, and then
Speaker 2: we would preview the coaches on guys and so forth,
Speaker 2: and who the targets that we really wanted to know
Speaker 2: more about them, their personality. Was this a guy that
Speaker 2: was a good fit for us personality wise, and then
Speaker 2: just convincing everybody in the process, there's a lot of
Speaker 2: good players. If this guy doesn't fit the mold, let's
Speaker 2: move on to the next guy that does. Even if
Speaker 2: he doesn't, maybe a great fit for the positions. It
Speaker 2: makes our football team stronger. And I think Mike allowing
Speaker 2: that to happen was huge, you know that, you know,
Speaker 2: we didn't have to go with a popular pick. We
Speaker 2: went with the one that fit us.
Speaker 1: So it sounds like those personal visits, whether it was
Speaker 1: at the combine or back in Cincinnati, were really important to.
Speaker 2: You, yes, or going out on campus, you know, to
Speaker 2: the to the players campus, taking that player to dinner,
Speaker 2: spending time my greatest thing. And because I got put
Speaker 2: on the competition com many by Missioner Tagliabu and six,
Speaker 2: I wasn't able to get out to as many pro
Speaker 2: days until the lockout team and then I realized what
Speaker 2: I was missing, and so I was able to start
Speaker 2: going to selected workout and being a fly on the
Speaker 2: wall and watching how the player was interacting with his teammates,
Speaker 2: the respect his teammates had for that player, and how
Speaker 2: the respect he had for his teammates, and it was
Speaker 2: that guy a good fit and that was the thing.
Speaker 2: And I'll tell you a quick story. When we went
Speaker 2: to work out Cam Newton, great physical talent, we couldn't
Speaker 2: get a receiver to catch for him. We went to
Speaker 2: Florida State or we worked out Ponder and he was
Speaker 2: at home in Dallas. So we were able to get
Speaker 2: the kids from SMU to help catch and do that.
Speaker 2: We go to Saint Louis and to Missouri to work
Speaker 2: out Gabbert and we got a flying coaches to catch.
Speaker 2: We go to TCU, the entire football team is there
Speaker 2: as part of the process with Andy Dalton, and that
Speaker 2: that that said a lot about what Andy Dalton meant
Speaker 2: to its teammates. And you know that that was a lot.
Speaker 1: This reminds me of the movie Draft Day where the
Speaker 1: players didn't show up for the top prospects birthday party,
Speaker 1: and Kevin Costner remembered that so things like that do
Speaker 1: happen that that makes an impression.
Speaker 2: It makes an impression. That morning, you know, literally I
Speaker 2: think we had I can't remember who was in town,
Speaker 2: but I flew into dall on good Friday morning early.
Speaker 2: When I got on the plane, there was the USA
Speaker 2: Today on my chair and I read the article. In
Speaker 2: the article it said the team that's fortunate enough to
Speaker 2: draft AJ Green and Andy Dalton will be the big
Speaker 2: winners in the draft. When I landed in Dallas, I
Speaker 2: drove over to the campus and I met the coaches
Speaker 2: for breakfast. They had taken Andy to dinner the night
Speaker 2: before and met.
Speaker 3: With the and they're like, man, I've been talking to nobody,
Speaker 3: but we literally held our breath and we were able
Speaker 3: to draft Andy AJ obviously at number four, and then
Speaker 3: later Andy Dalton.
Speaker 2: And you know, it sprung us forward again, which was great.
Speaker 1: So other than Carson, AJ was your only other top
Speaker 1: five pick, because you mentioned number four. Overall, that twenty
Speaker 1: eleven draft is considered one of the all time great drafts.
Speaker 1: JJ Watt, von Miller, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones. You mentioned
Speaker 1: Cam Newton, who took the Panthers to the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: twelve of the top sixteen picks in that draft were
Speaker 1: Pro bowlers. What tipped the scales in favor of A. J.
Speaker 2: Green just the way he carried himself, you know, A
Speaker 2: Julio Patrick Peterson I had met, We met with them all.
Speaker 2: In fact, I think the META had Julio in town
Speaker 2: before I went to meet with Andy, and Cam had
Speaker 2: been there the day before, and uh, and then I
Speaker 2: met with Patrick Peterson in the airport after I came
Speaker 2: back from Dallas of being with Andy and Ponder and uh,
Speaker 2: we literally met with him in the uh in the
Speaker 2: airport lounge there at CBG, so when he was on
Speaker 2: his way flying to his next stop. So, yeah, we
Speaker 2: were excited. Uh. You know, at that number four slot,
Speaker 2: we would have picked we wanted obviously our AJ, but
Speaker 2: we would have picked vond had uh, you know, had
Speaker 2: AJ been gone. You know, that was the decision of
Speaker 2: Von Miller and AJ Green, and then the Cincinnati Bengals
Speaker 2: would have been a three to four defense in Von Miller.
Speaker 2: You know, then we knew what we had to do
Speaker 2: then was prepared to make the switch so that we
Speaker 2: could you know, really maximize Von's ability.
Speaker 1: Couldn't go wrong either way.
Speaker 2: No, that's exactly right. And then Patrick Peterson was our
Speaker 2: fallback guy if we had to move back in the draft,
Speaker 2: and if if Cam was there, we were going to
Speaker 2: pick Cam. And Jay Gruden was prepared to build the
Speaker 2: Cam Newton offense. So, you know, that's the thing. I think,
Speaker 2: the involvement of our coaches, our coordinators. I was so
Speaker 2: fortunate to have guys that were so invested in that
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 1: So a bunch of quarterbacks and you you mentioned several
Speaker 1: of them were taken before Andy in that twenty eleven drafting.
Speaker 1: You took him in the second round. What was it
Speaker 1: about Andy? I know Jay Gruden was really high on him.
Speaker 1: Why did you guys think that this guy would be
Speaker 1: ready from day one?
Speaker 2: He never knew to throw. I literally, I was watching
Speaker 2: this guy from TCU and I go into Jay's office.
Speaker 2: I said, this quarterback from TCU never miss it. I say,
Speaker 2: have you looked at it? And yeah, he's my favorite
Speaker 2: and he goes he was on the other team that
Speaker 2: you coached at the Senior Bowl. And I didn't even
Speaker 2: realize that, you know, I said, it's awesome. We just
Speaker 2: held our breath. We sent the quarterbacks a little book
Speaker 2: before they came to visit us a little like playbook
Speaker 2: that Jay had put together. Andy came in and had
Speaker 2: some type bears when he brought it into visit with us.
Speaker 2: You know this right here, and and that was so
Speaker 2: so impressive, you know, you know, but we we literally
Speaker 2: held our breath, we did we uh uh? Later on,
Speaker 2: Bill Polly and told me, he said, you know, he did.
Speaker 2: They didn't know that the injury that Peyton Nanny had
Speaker 2: to his neck was going to be so severe, and
Speaker 2: they ended up picking the offen tackle Costanza instead of Andy.
Speaker 2: And he said to me one time, he said, you know,
Speaker 2: we just I just didn't know Peyton's injury was as
Speaker 2: severe as it was. And you know, we would have
Speaker 2: picked Andy Dalton. That was the guy that they had
Speaker 2: targeted also, and you know, Carl Kaepernick went the very
Speaker 2: next pick. Colin had Colin at the Senior Bowl and
Speaker 2: he and Locker at the Senior Bowl where the quarterbacks
Speaker 2: we had on a squad.
Speaker 1: Out of all of those quarterbacks, take it in that draft.
Speaker 1: Andy's had the longest career, and you know, you can
Speaker 1: make the case the most successful. Cam had a great run,
Speaker 1: but it didn't last nearly as long. And Andy's still
Speaker 1: going strong.
Speaker 2: If you look at Andy's numbers, really incredible in comparison
Speaker 2: to the guys that have earned Hall of Fame quarterback.
Speaker 2: The thinging about it, I will tell you that I
Speaker 2: had a you know, last year, We're getting ready to
Speaker 2: play the Carolina Panthers and on Tuesday morning they announced
Speaker 2: Andy Dalkins at starting quarterback and I just get a
Speaker 2: sick feeling in my stomach because I know what we're
Speaker 2: in for. I know that he's going to be prepared.
Speaker 2: I know he's going to know where every pressure is
Speaker 2: coming from, the looks and everything, and he's going to
Speaker 2: be able to get ready with football. And we had
Speaker 2: to play an outstanding game and we didn't and they
Speaker 2: beat us.
Speaker 1: Coming up next with coach Lewis, I'll look back at
Speaker 1: the two thousand and five draft. One that could have
Speaker 1: gone down is among the best in team history if
Speaker 1: not for a misfortune and tragedy. But first, here's a
Speaker 1: quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to
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Speaker 1: the Bengals. Marvin, you had some great drafts in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: Of any in Bengals history, this is the one that
Speaker 1: might go down and probably does go down as the
Speaker 1: most heartbreaking. You took David Pollock in round one, he
Speaker 1: played one year before his neck injury. He took Odell
Speaker 1: Thurman in round two. He had the best rookie year
Speaker 1: of any defensive player in franchise history, and then he
Speaker 1: never played again because of off the field issues. And
Speaker 1: then in round three it took Chris Henry, who was
Speaker 1: terrific for four and a half seasons and obviously was
Speaker 1: the most tragic story of all as he passed away
Speaker 1: at the age of twenty six. How much different is
Speaker 1: Bengals history if those players had long careers, no.
Speaker 2: Question about it. David Pollack again, pold your breath moment
Speaker 2: brought him to Cincinnati the end of the process. Biggest
Speaker 2: Jim Ratt had man named at Georgia when he was
Speaker 2: a young player and watched him after its freshman season.
Speaker 2: Just incredible. He was going to be our Carson Palmer
Speaker 2: of the defense, and you know, had brought Kevin Green
Speaker 2: to training campus with Kevin their jersey there to help
Speaker 2: mentor David, and David wasn't signing. Kevin had to leave. Literally,
Speaker 2: Kevin drove the Cincinnati from Canton after being inducted in
Speaker 2: the Pro Football Hall of Fame to be there with
Speaker 2: David Pollock. How about that? And you know, and David
Speaker 2: was unsigny, so Kevin came and gone before David got
Speaker 2: the camp.
Speaker 1: Got to say hi, but not doing anything.
Speaker 2: But you know, just incredible, O'Dell, Just what a fine,
Speaker 2: fine player could have been a starting half back in
Speaker 2: the National Football League. That's the kind of athlete. Ose
Speaker 2: y'all was. Smarter a whip, took up got football. I
Speaker 2: said to Mike Brown after the first practice of rookie camp,
Speaker 2: He's just like Reddy Lewis. And literally seven years later
Speaker 2: I said that again after the first day minicamp about
Speaker 2: Oneteed perfect.
Speaker 1: He's just like Ray and in what ways.
Speaker 2: Instinctive, never wasted a step, smart as a whip, picked
Speaker 2: up football like that made people around them better so sudden,
Speaker 2: and when they hit you, it's like getting hit by
Speaker 2: cinder block. You know, so just incredible. I did my
Speaker 2: last season going to Georgia for the pro day. I
Speaker 2: was at Georgia. Somebody came up from behind me and
Speaker 2: hugged me, and I turned around and it was Odell
Speaker 2: and I had the biggest smile on my face. I
Speaker 2: was so glad that he was there doing well. Coach
Speaker 2: Rick took care of him. Kirby has taken care of
Speaker 2: him since, you know, giving him a role there at
Speaker 2: the University of Georgia. And I'm just so relieved he
Speaker 2: was doing well. And he's like, Coach, I don't have
Speaker 2: anything went on play, so literally we had Adam No
Speaker 2: make up the jersey for Odell and senate to him,
Speaker 2: framed it, sent it to him, you know, just I mean,
Speaker 2: you're right. And Chris Henry, I mean, I remember a
Speaker 2: Thanksgiving the writers were writing that we had three first
Speaker 2: round picks. You know that, you know, two thirds of
Speaker 2: the way, three fourths away three that season that you
Speaker 2: know we had won the draft with three first round picks.
Speaker 2: You know, you Jackson came back from West Virginia just
Speaker 2: raving about Chris Henry and they had watched one on
Speaker 2: one film with him and Adam Jones, and him just
Speaker 2: taken Adam a park Adam or that.
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see Adam out.
Speaker 2: But that's how impressive it was was to see those
Speaker 2: two compete. And they had watched Lily a one on
Speaker 2: one practice tape when they were at WVU and you
Speaker 2: know Christly with special And yes, it was so unfortunate.
Speaker 2: He had basically turned his life around. And when the
Speaker 2: accident in the curb.
Speaker 1: You coached so many great linebackers in Pittsburgh and Baltimore
Speaker 1: and elsewhere, and I think people forget how impactful Odell
Speaker 1: was his rookie year. Five interceptions, five forced fumbles, a
Speaker 1: ton of tackles. He was on his way to being
Speaker 1: one of the best linebackers in the league.
Speaker 2: No question about it, no question about it. He just
Speaker 2: was so instinctive, so sudden. We were able to use
Speaker 2: him as a blitzer, as a cover guy. He could
Speaker 2: do it all, and you know, and he was smart
Speaker 2: enough to get it right for the most part if
Speaker 2: he jumping offside when he was glitzing, but other than that,
Speaker 2: But no, we were we were really fortunate. And uh,
Speaker 2: you know, uh, he just you know, was dealing with
Speaker 2: a lot of you know, demons, in his life that
Speaker 2: you learned.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, So from your sixteen Bengals drafts, do you have
Speaker 1: a pick that isn't as obvious as some of the
Speaker 1: ones that I've mentioned that you thought was especially impactful.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously these first rounders the picked were so
Speaker 2: impactful on our squad. You know, tyer Riifer let me
Speaker 2: change the game for it. You know, he really did.
Speaker 2: And you know it means such such a difference in
Speaker 2: what we were doing and everything that way. You know, uh,
Speaker 2: you know Chris Perry before he gets hurt, you know,
Speaker 2: such the athleticism, the ability to catch the run, to
Speaker 2: do everything with tremendous you know, uh, Leon All and
Speaker 2: what he and John Joseph were able to do. Leon
Speaker 2: was a great mentor to John Joseph. Uh and watching
Speaker 2: those two grow up together, you know, it was just
Speaker 2: it's just incredible. Guy down like Georgia I Loca fourth
Speaker 2: round pick. You know, you know Sean this, you know,
Speaker 2: we were just so lucky and uh, you know that's
Speaker 2: the part of the uh, maybe from recruiting in college,
Speaker 2: through being involved in the draft process. You know, in
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh in my first year, we draft Levon Kirkland in
Speaker 2: my position. Next year, we draft Chad Brown, next year
Speaker 2: we draft Jason Gilden, I mean Dante and so they
Speaker 2: all three of them became Pro Bowl players, and it
Speaker 2: just they included me in the process, and I was
Speaker 2: very very fortunate that and uh and so when I
Speaker 2: moved on to Baltimore, the first pick we'd pick on
Speaker 2: defense is Ray Lewis. And literally I was still in
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh when I went to the Combine that year, and
Speaker 2: I had watched plays at Miami and I shut the
Speaker 2: tape off and one got Dick Leabow and it's a dick.
Speaker 2: You got to see this guy. Five plays, That's all
Speaker 2: I watched. I went to the combine, introduced myself and
Speaker 2: I said, you know, I'm Marvin Lewis'm the linebacker coach
Speaker 2: at Pittsburgh. Steve, you're a hell of a player. I'll
Speaker 2: never get to coach you, but good luck to you.
Speaker 2: Two weeks later, I was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore
Speaker 2: and we picked him at number twenty six because he
Speaker 2: didn't run that but boy was his sudden. And I
Speaker 2: would tease Jesse Armstead and Michael Barrow down the line
Speaker 2: that if they hadn't come out before him at Miami.
Speaker 2: When I was in the process with the Steelers, they
Speaker 2: would not have been a Ray Lewis. You know, that
Speaker 2: would not have been so lucky. But those guys helped
Speaker 2: me because I wasn't as high on them coming down
Speaker 2: in the draft and they were very, very productive NFL player,
Speaker 2: So they taught me a lesson of what Ray could be.
Speaker 2: And uh, and that's the fun of the process. And
Speaker 2: you gotta you gotta dig deep into it and get
Speaker 2: into it. And and that's the thing that I loved
Speaker 2: about Mike Brown. As soon as the seasons over, Mike's
Speaker 2: ready to draft. I mean, this is the this week.
Speaker 2: He can't wait to get to the draft. You know,
Speaker 2: he loves it. And uh and that's so great because
Speaker 2: he's involved, he's excited about it, and uh you know, uh,
Speaker 2: but I'm literally as soon as the season he's ready
Speaker 2: to get to the draft. And uh, you know so.
Speaker 2: And then once the draft's over, he's ready to get
Speaker 2: to the season. Let's cut the that's cut the team
Speaker 2: and get to the season. And you know, because he this,
Speaker 2: this is what he does, this is his lifeblood. It's
Speaker 2: all he worried about is the football team. And winning.
Speaker 1: Do you guys stay in frequent contact?
Speaker 2: Yes, I I check in, you know, once a month
Speaker 2: or so, and uh, you know, uh, you know, when
Speaker 2: you spend sixteen years, you know, and probably for the
Speaker 2: first eleven or twelve talk to somebody every single day.
Speaker 2: You know. People can't believe that we would sit out
Speaker 2: and meet every day and it might be five minutes,
Speaker 2: it might be fifty five minutes. But that's all he does.
Speaker 2: Twenty four to seven, three sixty five. The man went
Speaker 2: on one vacation when I was here two years. I
Speaker 2: think this is what he cares about, is that football
Speaker 2: team and winning. And obviously this year with them making
Speaker 2: the move they did and bringing back tight end and
Speaker 2: both receivers, and now that they go into the draft prostics,
Speaker 2: they got to sway it a little bit to the
Speaker 2: defensive side.
Speaker 1: I would imagine, you know, I've been thinking of something
Speaker 1: you said, Marvin, as the Bengals prepare for this draft, because,
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, after re signing Tea and Jamar and
Speaker 1: obviously Joe's extension last year, they're going to have to
Speaker 1: be younger and cheaper on defense. That's just the way
Speaker 1: it is. I just thinkly, remember you at some point
Speaker 1: saying you need young legs on defense, and that's ringing
Speaker 1: in my head right now as they prepare for this draft.
Speaker 2: You really that's the beauty of the draft. And it
Speaker 2: was kind of funny that the year of the lockout
Speaker 2: we reverse the process so you're able to go through
Speaker 2: the draft and then fill in with free agency after
Speaker 2: the draft, which would be the ideal way to do it,
Speaker 2: which then your whole draft board would be opened. You know,
Speaker 2: you really wouldn't worry about we got to make sure
Speaker 2: we get a guy at some point here or there.
Speaker 2: You can just pick the best players throughout and then
Speaker 2: fill in with free agents if you could do that process.
Speaker 2: But no, I really believe that, you know, particularly you know,
Speaker 2: you're what the colleges are doing now that you can
Speaker 2: get guys, you know, defensive linemen, the interior guys, edge guys.
Speaker 2: There's so many edge guys that can change the game.
Speaker 2: I mean, you look at last year's draft class and
Speaker 2: how many edge guys came out and were productive as rookies,
Speaker 2: you know, because that's what they're doing in college. And
Speaker 2: then you look at the corners and the safeties because
Speaker 2: they have to be able to cover so those are
Speaker 2: the things. And you know, and unfortunately the fungible position
Speaker 2: as a linebacker. You know, but you can be the
Speaker 2: game has changed so much. Well now you're looking for athletes,
Speaker 2: and that's what they had in Cincinnati in the two
Speaker 2: interior and I think one of the guys left now,
Speaker 2: but that's what they had and two good athletes inside
Speaker 2: and fifty seven and fifty five. You know, both guys
Speaker 2: were good athletes. And that's what we were able to
Speaker 2: have back in the day when we had Caleb Miller
Speaker 2: and Landon Johnson. They weren't big, but they were athletes,
Speaker 2: you know, through that little stretch and then we ended
Speaker 2: up getting a little bigger as we went.
Speaker 1: When you evaluated players, what did you prioritize and what
Speaker 1: were your non negotiables?
Speaker 2: They had to be competitive non negotial right there. And
Speaker 2: I think the second thing, they had to be smart
Speaker 2: enough to handle the changes and that you do game
Speaker 2: plan wise and even sometimes in between series. You know,
Speaker 2: I was blessed as a young coach to be around
Speaker 2: the Rod Woodson uh to see how smart guys could
Speaker 2: be and and and be impactful that way. And so
Speaker 2: but those were the things, you know, and then as
Speaker 2: far as you know what you're looking for, we're looking
Speaker 2: for guys that were you know, I said this from
Speaker 2: the start, big strong, physical men. We were competing in
Speaker 2: the most physical division in the National Football League and
Speaker 2: we had to go be more physical than Baltimore Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: And at the time I was there, Cleveland was drafting
Speaker 2: at the top of the draft every year. So I
Speaker 2: mean a yukawuiji board and hit on somebody, you know,
Speaker 2: with your eyes shut.
Speaker 1: They got the second pick this year. So some things
Speaker 1: have changed.
Speaker 2: But we had to be able to withstand. And I
Speaker 2: think about from when I started in those first signing
Speaker 2: of free agents Reggie Kelly, because we had to be
Speaker 2: able to block the perimeter guys that Baltimore and Pittsburgh had,
Speaker 2: and Reggie Kelly was that guy for us. But then
Speaker 2: the leadership that we brought in, But those are the
Speaker 2: things they announced answer your question. We needed to get
Speaker 2: bigger and stronger and more physical. I mean, when Michael
Speaker 2: Johnson and Carlos Dunlaugh and those guys got off the bus,
Speaker 2: they were big men, and that's what we wanted to
Speaker 2: look like. And the same thing on the conversing on
Speaker 2: the other side of the ball was with the offensive line.
Speaker 2: They had to be big, strong, physical people, and we're
Speaker 2: able to always put good runners behind him. Physical runner,
Speaker 2: you know, from Corey to Rudy. J just said obviously
Speaker 2: the Joe Mixon and all the other guys that came,
Speaker 2: you know in between Ben Jarvis. You know, Uh, that's
Speaker 2: the kind of football we played, and so we had
Speaker 2: to be great at that and drafted that. You know,
Speaker 2: when we had Rudy, we draft Chris Perry because we
Speaker 2: felt like he offered a change up in a different style. Uh,
Speaker 2: and the same thing with with oh, our guy from
Speaker 2: North Carolina, you know, the accident, the guys that we
Speaker 2: had during those times, you know, Geo he had to
Speaker 2: you know, so we were always trying to make sure
Speaker 2: that we had flexibility and versatility and what we were
Speaker 2: doing within the football team.
Speaker 1: Do you still feel that way about the AFC North
Speaker 1: or did your opinion of it for standing out in
Speaker 1: that sense change from the last couple of years you
Speaker 1: spent with the Raiders.
Speaker 2: I was get involved against it this year, so yes.
Speaker 2: And Cleveland is that now they're a physical football team,
Speaker 2: you know, up front on offense, and uh, they you know,
Speaker 2: their backs were a little bit dinged up and injured
Speaker 2: this year, but but that's what they do. And obviously
Speaker 2: Baltimore hasn't changed in Pittsburgh has yet to change, so
Speaker 2: it's really it's still the same. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: the Bengals, because of the quarterback and the skill on offense,
Speaker 2: they go about it a different way.
Speaker 1: You know, So this one might be difficult. But do
Speaker 1: you remember any specific times where there was a player
Speaker 1: who was taken just before the Bengals selection where it
Speaker 1: really broke your heart?
Speaker 2: There always is right, you know what I mean, there's
Speaker 2: no question about it if there always is a player
Speaker 2: and you know that that maybe goes right before you.
Speaker 2: You know the thing, and that's why you know that.
Speaker 2: You know, people think you go into the draft, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, you have certain targets. You hope you can
Speaker 2: get some, but you know you got to be know
Speaker 2: that the other teams are doing their work as well,
Speaker 2: and sometimes the guy just doesn't quite get to you.
Speaker 2: And you know, the way Mike did the process was
Speaker 2: really good. You know, we would be four or five
Speaker 2: picks from our from our pick and we would have
Speaker 2: you know, he wanted to have six names, five or
Speaker 2: six names to say again, these are the guys that
Speaker 2: were targeting, and we feel everybody feels good about this guy.
Speaker 2: And if you don't say so, and let's let's move
Speaker 2: on to the next one and maybe fill in later
Speaker 2: on at that spot. But but, but that was a
Speaker 2: good part of the process.
Speaker 1: After you picked a guy, how quickly did you know
Speaker 1: if he was going to be successful in the NFL.
Speaker 2: Well, I think we got a little bit of an indication,
Speaker 2: you know, when we would bring them in for the
Speaker 2: rookie can't put them on the field and start doing
Speaker 2: stuff with them, and you know, really when you can,
Speaker 2: you know, But like I said earlier, you know in
Speaker 2: the NFL, there's really no restriction on what you can't
Speaker 2: can and can't do. You really should know a lot
Speaker 2: about the player. Is much about kick me for the
Speaker 2: first three four rounds. You know. Now maybe down the
Speaker 2: line you don't know quite as much and you're going
Speaker 2: off the time the scouts spent on campus. If we
Speaker 2: did have a coach, go to the campus and then
Speaker 2: the videotape, And that was the thing in the process
Speaker 2: that I'd love to do too. I mean, I would
Speaker 2: try to watch through to three hundred of the players,
Speaker 2: many of the players that I could like. If I
Speaker 2: knew there was multiple players on a team, then I
Speaker 2: wanted to watch that that side of the ball versus whoever,
Speaker 2: So that I knew something about some of these guys
Speaker 2: that were maybe down the line in the sixth seventh
Speaker 2: round that way, so you know, you really, you know,
Speaker 2: you get to feel pretty pretty pretty close, you know,
Speaker 2: early on. And and the fact that that you know,
Speaker 2: we wanted to try and get those guys involved early,
Speaker 2: and that was another part of it. You know, let's
Speaker 2: do what they do. Let's make sure we're bringing a
Speaker 2: guy to Cincinnati that if he is a deep ball catcher,
Speaker 2: let's throw deep balls to him, you know, that's what
Speaker 2: he does. If he's an underneath guy, let's make sure
Speaker 2: we can have give him success and what he does,
Speaker 2: you know. And if he's a running back and has
Speaker 2: great hands, let's make sure we feature him that way.
Speaker 1: All right, a few more non draft questions and I'll
Speaker 1: let you go. You came to pay Corps this year
Speaker 1: to face the Bengals. You saw Joe Burrow in peak form.
Speaker 1: He tied his career high with five touchdown passes that day.
Speaker 1: What impressed you most seeing Joe Burrow in person.
Speaker 2: I think his ex accuracy number one. He doesn't get
Speaker 2: as much credit for how he can move in the pocket.
Speaker 2: And the fact that I think he took what the
Speaker 2: defense gave him. You know, we we we tried to.
Speaker 2: I don't think Higgins played that day, so we were
Speaker 2: able to just you know, kind of shift everything over
Speaker 2: to Chase and so the tight end killed.
Speaker 1: Us receiving yards in that game.
Speaker 2: So you know, so those things I think. You know,
Speaker 2: I was fortunate enough to be there the year before
Speaker 2: when when Chad went into the Ring of Honor, and
Speaker 2: that was the first time I had ever seen Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow up close on the on the field before the
Speaker 2: game when they were doing the pregame and how big
Speaker 2: he was. I didn't realize that. So he's an impressive player,
Speaker 2: you know. Uh. The receivers and the tight end were
Speaker 2: so impressive physically, uh that day as well. You know,
Speaker 2: I noticed, you know, I saw them that same day
Speaker 2: I was on the field and Green gave I mean,
Speaker 2: they're well put together football team on that side of
Speaker 2: the ball, and uh, and you know, I mean he
Speaker 2: is arguably you know that it's not the top but
Speaker 2: in the top two three quarterbacks in National Football League,
Speaker 2: and you know, he goes out and proves it day
Speaker 2: in and day out.
Speaker 1: Marvin, before Vegas, you were back in college football for
Speaker 1: a few years at Arizona State. What do you think
Speaker 1: of Bill Belichick becoming the head coach at North Carolina?
Speaker 2: I think number one. You know, obviously he gives an
Speaker 2: instant credibility to what they're doing. He's surrounded himself with
Speaker 2: his people who really do a great job at what
Speaker 2: they do. I know, coaches, administration and Mike Lombardi. So
Speaker 2: you know, he's put together a really good cast of
Speaker 2: characters to help them build the program. That way, the
Speaker 2: thing that I think the biggest struggle Bill is going
Speaker 2: to have, and I don't know if if the time
Speaker 2: constraints that you have in college football, which really makes
Speaker 2: no sense because now we're paying the they're paying these guys,
Speaker 2: and now you're limiting them so many hours, seventeen hours
Speaker 2: a week basically because the game comes for three And
Speaker 2: that's the biggest difference in college football. You know, the
Speaker 2: time we spent in the National Football League with these
Speaker 2: guys and then in college now you're ratcheted back to
Speaker 2: those hours and so I think that's going to be
Speaker 2: a big adjustment, the fact that the portal just opened again.
Speaker 2: So you know, the comings and goings of the guys
Speaker 2: who get their feelings hurt. That's the other difficult part,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. And I'm sure there'll be
Speaker 2: Jettis and some guys and you know, we won't feel
Speaker 2: the love and so they'll be leaving that way. But
Speaker 2: that's part of the college football process these days.
Speaker 1: You are seven years younger than Pete Carroll. He just
Speaker 1: jumped back into the head coaching pool. Would you like
Speaker 1: to keep coaching in some capacity.
Speaker 2: No, I think I'm good. I'm done. You know, I'm bored,
Speaker 2: let me tell you that. But I don't know what
Speaker 2: I'll do. But it was great. I was glad that
Speaker 2: trying to help the people that have helped over the
Speaker 2: last few years. You know, I stay in touch with
Speaker 2: you know, with Kenny at Asu. I've been down there
Speaker 2: three four times. I'll be there tomorrow to look at
Speaker 2: their clinic. You know, I've been down at University of
Speaker 2: Arizona UNLB, you know. So you know a lot of
Speaker 2: these coaches that I know, you know, stay in touch with,
Speaker 2: But no, I think I'm done. You know the other
Speaker 2: side of it is my wife's put up with this
Speaker 2: stuff for over forty seven years.
Speaker 1: Yes she has, and.
Speaker 2: So you know, as she says, it's her time now.
Speaker 2: And so now I'm here for every service, repair man
Speaker 2: and everything and all those things that come with running
Speaker 2: the household and taking those offs for late and so
Speaker 2: that's what I do now.
Speaker 1: And being a great grandfather.
Speaker 2: Yes, and those my three dudes. You know we got today,
Speaker 2: We got basketball tonight, we had soccer when tuesday, we
Speaker 2: got golf school on Saturday. Grayson had piano and hip
Speaker 2: hop yesterday. You know. So they're busy guys, and to
Speaker 2: watch them grow up has been really cool.
Speaker 1: I probably should have phrased that differently, being an excellent
Speaker 1: grandfather as opposed to a great grandfather. That sounds like,
Speaker 1: you know, we're talking about another generation. Final question for you, Marvin.
Speaker 1: We've all heard the saying you want to leave something
Speaker 1: better than you found it. I think that's certainly true
Speaker 1: of your time in Cincinnati. You finished with a winning record,
Speaker 1: seven playoff trips, four division titles. What are you proudest
Speaker 1: of from your ten years the Bengals head coach.
Speaker 2: I think I'm probably proudest of the fact that watching
Speaker 2: the men grow and the father's productive husbands. I think that,
Speaker 2: to me is the coolest part. I've missed their calls,
Speaker 2: but they've did these zoom calls last couple of Sundays
Speaker 2: and there's twenty guys on there, and you know, it's
Speaker 2: really cool. And we didn't win a championship, but I
Speaker 2: which is why we do this, but to see these
Speaker 2: guys be productive adults after their careers, it's really cool.
Speaker 2: And I know that's what gives Mike the most satisfaction.
Speaker 2: You know the fact that Mike never wanted to see
Speaker 2: a player that couldn't be productive the rest of his life,
Speaker 2: and that's really cool. You know, Sam Hubbard just got
Speaker 2: married last weekend, and the whole Sam Hubbard story from
Speaker 2: when he's in high school with Moller and and I'm
Speaker 2: up there at House State with Earth and Sam calls
Speaker 2: Irvine and Irvan puts me on the phone with Sam
Speaker 2: Hubbard and says, hey, here's your next coach. And the
Speaker 2: fact that we were fortunate enough to draft Sam and
Speaker 2: you know so, and then watching what the impact he's
Speaker 2: having in in the Cincinnati community with his foundation is
Speaker 2: Mont property. That stuff's really cool, you know, to see
Speaker 2: what these guys have grown and done and being productive.
Speaker 2: You know Vontez is here in Arizona and seeing him
Speaker 2: coach junior high football, have a trucking business. You know
Speaker 2: Wallace Gilberry who we didn't draft but we brought into Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: ended his career, made us a better football team, and
Speaker 2: he has a very successful trucking business. So that stuff,
Speaker 2: I mean, that's this thing that that makes it cool.
Speaker 2: You know, you've mentioned Andrew, We know David College and
Speaker 2: all these guys and what the greatest things they did.
Speaker 2: But you know, I just think that they're being able
Speaker 2: to see them being productive. Aj you know Aj Green,
Speaker 2: the father in him, the husband. That's the coolest.
Speaker 1: Put Marvin, this has been a real treat. You've been
Speaker 1: very generous with your time. I can't thank you enough
Speaker 1: and I really really do appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: You welcome, Dan Good to do it my pleasure.
Speaker 1: Coming out early next week on the next edition of
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth podcast, draft predictions from Dave Lapham and me.
Speaker 1: But that's going to do it for this episode of
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Speaker 1: Hord and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast.