Ken Riley (right) shares a laugh with Doug Williams here last week. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        The Bengals could use a cornerback, and one of their greatest was back in town last week. Some mused that Ken Riley consider suiting up again, but Riley is now a 53-year-old grandfather.

        Riley, whose 65 interceptions rank fourth on the NFL career list, is saddened by the Bengals' decade-long playoff drought. Riley was on five playoff teams as a Bengal from 1969-83, including the 1981 Super Bowl season.

        “I symphathize with the players, because I went through two 4-12 seasons myself,” Riley said. “But the only people that can change that are the players themselves. Not coaches, not management.”

        Management is what Riley now is. Since 1994 he has been athletic director at Florida A&M University, his alma mater. He was head football coach at the school from 1986-93.

        Last week, Riley returned to Cincinnati to help promote the third annual River Front Classic, which pits Florida A&M against Grambling State on Sept. 15 at Paul Brown Stadium. Riley has returned to Cincinnati several times since retiring from the Bengals, but this was his first look at the new stadium.

LIFE OF RILEY

• NFL career: Bengals cornerback, 1969-83. Fourth on NFL all-time interception list with 65.   • Post NFL-career: 1984-85: Green Bay Packers assistant coach; 1986-93: Head coach, Florida A&M University; 1994-present: Athletic director, Florida A&M.   • Personal: Age 53, hometown is Bartow, Fla. Married, three grown children, one grandchild. Resides in Tallahassee, Fla.

        “The name Paul Brown is well-deserved, when you consider all the accomplishments and innovations he made,” Riley said.

        Brown, who ran the franchise until his death in 1991, felt the same about Riley.

        “He's a model football player and a real gentleman,” Brown once said of Riley. “Youngsters would do well to pattern themselves after him.”

        Brown made Riley a sixth-round draft choice in 1969 out of tiny Florida A&M, and told the kid he'd be converted from quarterback to defensive back.

        Ask Riley his top Bengal memory, and naturally the '81 Super Bowl year comes up. But that was not the best.

        “Just finding out for the first time that I had made the team, that was something,” he said. “Here I was, a kid from a small school, and I made Paul Brown's team.”

        Riley was nicknamed “The Rattler,” which is also Florida A&M's nickname. The nickname was the flashiest thing about the man, who never made a Pro Bowl despite Pro Bowl-caliber stats. He was overshadowed on his own team by fellow cornerback Lemar Parrish, who made six Pro Bowls between 1970-77. But Parrish did not have Riley's durability or longevity.

        Paul Brown and his son, Mike, always believe Riley would have become more decorated in a larger media market. Mike Brown still believes that has hurt Riley's chances at the NFL Hall of Fame, and Riley is hurt by his omission.

        “I'm in about six Halls of Fame but not the big one,” he said. “People forget about you, but if I never got there, I'm happy with what I've accomplished.”
       

Johnson, Holmes to visit Bengals SULLIVAN: Bengals dare to think big Catching Up With: Ken Riley

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