Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
As the 1972 Dolphins popped their champagne corks in South Florida and the 2003 Chiefs reminded themselves that 9-1 is nothing to be ashamed of, there was heard from southwestern Ohio a thunderous roar.
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
Was there ever greater proof of the importance of coaching in the NFL than the 2003 Cincinnati Bengals? A year ago they were 1-9, stumbling toward a 2-14 season. In the offseason they lost their best defensive player when Takeo Spikes left for Buffalo. They drafted Heisman Trophy-winner Carson Palmer with the No. 1 pick in the draft, but he has not played a down in 2003. How have they propelled themselves to 5-5 and a share of first place in the AFC North?
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
Chad Johnson guaranteed the Bengals would beat the Chiefs after last week’s game. Given the fact that Kansas City was undefeated at the time and the Bengals had lost to the lowly Arizona Cardinals just the week before, it was a bold statement. The fact that Corey Dillon — the Bengals’ best player of the past decade — had declared earlier in the year he wanted off the team made it even bolder. Yet the bulletin board material Johnson provided the high-powered Chiefs offense seemed to inspire the Bengals’ defense instead. They came out firing on all cylinders, the 22nd-ranked unit looking more like Lewis’ 2000 Ravens in holding KC to just 19 points. Although the Chiefs were able to rally for two touchdowns in the fourth, Cincinnati’s offense and special teams provided their defense 24 points and zero turnovers. It proved enough for the 24-19 Cincy win, the upset of the season.
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
And whether they ultimately make the playoffs or not, yesterday’s victory was a monumental one for the Cincinnati Bengals franchise. They have taken a huge step forward under Lewis. He has transformed the attitude of a franchise whose players have long been considered lost souls trapped in the NFL’s lowest circle of hell. He has put fire in the belly of a long-sedated franchise drugged by complacent management and incompetent coaching.
Not impressed by .500? Consider this: the Bengals’ five wins in 10 games this season matches or exceeds their season win total in six of the last 12 years. That’s why, despite the Parcells phenomenon in Big D, there is a new front-runner for coach of the year.
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
No one deserves the accolades more than Lewis. After being celebrated as the architect of the dominating Ravens D in their Super Bowl championship season, he received no head-coaching offers. After another season in Baltimore, he took the defensive coordinator job in Washington in 2002, looking on while fellow defensive coordinators John Fox and Gregg Williams received promotions. After last season, the Bengals came calling. Though warned against taking a job many considered career suicide, Lewis couldn’t turn down the opportunity. The Bengals convinced him they wanted just one man to be their head coach.
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!
And as the game unfolded on Sunday, the Bengals couldn’t have looked any smarter. Lewis’ troops were both fired-up and well-prepared. The Chiefs may have been asleep to start the game, but even after they woke up in the fourth, the Bengals proved too much.
The echoes of the Cincinnati miracle stretched all the way to New Haven.
“Lewis could run for mayor in Cincinnati,” said Todd, a son of Eli and lifelong fan of the beleaguered ‘Bungles,’ said. “It’s awesome.”
Perhaps he should. Considering the fact that Trash-TV-Titan Jerry Springer was once head man in the Queen City, a Lewis mayoral run does not seem that far-fetched. He sure knows how to quickly collect a passionate constituency. Sunday’s near-capacity crowd at Paul Brown Stadium was as rabid as any in the NFL, and not a single one of the 64,923 in attendance wore a brown paper bag, Bengals fans’ headgear of choice for the past 12 years. And as Lewis was doused with a well-deserved Gatorade shower as time expired, the Cincinnati faithful forgot, at least for a moment, the pain of the last 13 years of Bengals football. They forgot about Ken Griffey Jr.’s failed homecoming. They forgot about Bob Huggins’ Bearcats’ repeated NCAA tournament choke-jobs. They cared about only one team, they cheered for only one man.
Mar-vin! Mar-vin! Mar-vin!