By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

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Bengals coach Dick LeBeau talked after Sunday's loss about being a man and continuing to say and do the right things despite the team's 0-6 start.

Look for him to get his chance to weather the storm.

Bengals president Mike Brown has few, if any, options to replace LeBeau. Brown repeatedly has declined to discuss the team's coaching situation, and a phone message left Sunday night at his Indian Hill home wasn't returned.

The obvious choice to replace LeBeau would be Bengals defensive coordinator Mark Duffner. Brown offered the job to Duffner on the morning of Sept. 25, 2000, after Bruce Coslet resigned. Duffner turned down the job in deference to LeBeau, one of his coaching mentors.

But Duffner deserves almost as much blame as LeBeau for this season' 0-6 collapse.

Coming off a No. 9 ranking in 2001, the Bengals wanted to finish this year as one of the league's top three defensive teams, and expected to contend for the playoffs. But they've allowed 181 points in six games - a 30.2 average. And, Duffner already has two jobs, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Duffner is the only staff member with extensive head coaching experience. He was 20-35 in five seasons as Maryland's head coach, and he had a 60-5-1 record in six seasons at Holy Cross.

Coordinator is the normal place to look for a mid-season coaching replacement. But offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski has never been a head coach, and he has hardly distinguished himself in 22 games with the Bengals. His offense has scored 263 points, an 11.95 average. This season, the offense has scored 44 of the team's 51 points, a 7.3 average.

The longshot to replace LeBeau is John Cooper. The former Ohio State coach joined the Bengals as a scouting consultant before the 2002 draft. He has declined to talk about coaching in the NFL, but has told close friends that he would listen if Brown wanted to talk.

Cooper, like LeBeau, is 65, and had a 193-83-6 record in 24 years of Division I coaching. He was 111-43-4 in 13 years at Ohio State and was fired in January 2001. Cooper didn't return a call left at his Columbus home.

Although LeBeau is 10-25, Brown has been reluctant to fire coaches. Dave Shula was 19-52 when Brown fired him after a 1-6 start in 1996. Coslet quit at 21-39.

In 11-plus seasons with Brown in charge, the Bengals are 53-129.

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