Tuesday, December 07, 1999Brown's mum on Coslet's future
No changes for change's sake
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerEven with his team's public opinion rating lower than its 3-10 record, Bengals President Mike Brown said Monday he doesn't feel pressured to make dramatic changes coinciding with next season's opening of Paul Brown Stadium.
“I have never done things because they had an immediate public appeal,” Mike Brown said. “I did them because I thought they were right for the team over the long haul.”
As the Bengals savored their first two-game winning streak in two years, Brown wouldn't comment on speculation coach Bruce Coslet would be fired in the name of stadium public relations. But after his team rose to 10th in the offensive ratings, Brown continued to insist the
Bengals must get better on defense but aren't as bad as their record and that the systems in place work.
“All I'll say about the coaches is what I said about doing what's in the best interest of the team,” Brown said. “Are our coaches stupider than the coaches in Denver, the coaches in San Francisco, the coaches for the New York Jets? I could go on and on and everyone says, "Oh, those coaches are good coaches.' Well, I'm not so sure our coaches aren't good coaches. Coaches are teachers.
“When (Denver's Mike) Shanahan and (the Jets' Bill) Parcells and (the 49ers Steve) Mariucci do (without) Steve Young, (John) Elway, or what every other star player who makes a difference, they were just as good at coaching. The team didn't do as well because they don't have the players to do what they'd been doing before. I think if we get talent enough, what we do is workable.”
Now that the team is playing well, players aren't so sure how big the changes will be, or even if there's going to be any.
“Will there be changes? I don't know,” said defensive captain Takeo Spikes. “Should there be? I don't know, man.”
The new practice facility at the stadium has caught the players' attention. They have heard breakfast will be served and that they will have the same chefs who cook food for the luxury suite holders. The move from depressing Spinney Field and its decade of drudgery may not be change enough.
But it's change.
“We can't keep going on doing the same thing we've been doing,” said tackle Willie Anderson. “I don't know how drastic it's going to be. It could be changing the offense for Akili (Smith) or just changing the uniforms. ... But I'm pretty sure something will change.”
Anderson and others like the scuttlebutt they hear from club employees about the perks at the new stadium, and he thinks it will inject the team with some life.
“There'll be a new attitude for people coming to work. Nobody likes coming to Spinney Field to work,” Anderson said. “If you play in a comfortable environment, you play comfortable and you say, "Hey, you went all out for me, so I'll bust my behind.' I think you'll see guys on the team starting to think that way when they see all the luxurious facilities we have and they realize they're trying to change the way things are going around here.”
Brown is tired of hearing the knocks by former Bengals playing elsewhere about how players are treated at Spinney. But he also admitted Monday there are some problems, and he's trying to fix them.
“It's a first-class facility,” Brown said of the new complex. “It will lift their spirits. ... It's going to be bigger and newer and better. That will make them feel better playing in a first-class situation. That helps the psyche.”
But like Anderson said, “Just because we get breakfast cooked doesn't mean we'll win.”
Coach Bruce Coslet has been watching the building grow and he's excited.
“Is it going to make the difference, a major difference?” he asked. “No. You still have to block and tackle, run and catch. It's not going to hurt, that's for sure.”
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