Bob Trumpy, local radio host and NBC-TV sportscaster. (File photo) | ZOOM |

Bob Trumpy played tight end and wide receiver for the Bengals from 1968-77. He played in four Pro Bowls and is eighth in Bengals history with 298 receptions. He also scored 35 touchdowns. He has enjoyed a long career in television and is an NFL color commentator on CBS Radio Sports/Westwood One.

Mike,

There is an equation for you to follow to right the Bengals ship.

It's a very simple plan. And the author of this plan is your father.

The first thing Paul Brown stated to us as a team is that the coach, Paul, would make all calls involving personnel and direction of the franchise. One of the most recurring themes Paul Brown presented to us, as players, was what happened to him when he was in Cleveland. And it was stated so much it became a distraction. In the weeks leading up to the Cleveland game, he would mention it even more.

He reminded us, when we played Kansas City, that he cut Len Dawson. The message was Len Dawson wasn't that good back then and that he he had cut a future Hall of Famer because he had the power. Paul Brown told us he traded Bobby Mitchell for the rights to draft Ernie Davis out of Syracuse. When we played Green Bay, he reminded us he waived Willie Davis, a Pro Bowl defensive end and future Hall of Famer.

LETTERS TO MIKE BROWN

• Former Bengals: Hire GM, think championship • Louis Breeden's letter • Dave Lapham's letter • Mike Martin's letter • Bob Trumpy's letter • Solomon Wilcots' letter

Paul said he could because he had the power and because he had better players. Paul Brown ran and worked the Cincinnati Bengals with one overriding factor -- fear. Coaches, players -- he didn't discriminate. He threatened players that he would trade them to Green Bay or Buffalo, which, at that time, were NFL purgatory. The guy standing in front of us in the morning meeting held our careers in his hands. He sat in judgment of us. He could be unmerciful to some players.

Today, Mike, the overriding problem of your management is your use of distance. You are a stranger to the players. You stand on the sidelines at practice and -- for a day, month, a year -- do not say a word to anyone. On the team plane, you start no conversation. On team buses, you sit and stare straight ahead. The distance you demonstrate between management and players is frightening. It's as if you don't want to know the players. Nothing can be unhealthier.

Players need to know that from the front office to the loading dock, the franchise is set up to win championships -- not that you're trying to get better -- but that you're trying to win championships. I've never heard you talk about championships. While players are not cold-fusion inventors, they can read.

Owning this franchise is easy. The National Football League helps any way it can. Running this franchise, you are on your own. The team is a direct reflection of you and you alone. Success requires leadership. Leaders know each player's strengths and weaknesses. Leaders know who fits and who doesn't. Leaders know what turns a player on and off. That can't be done from a distance.

What has happened to this franchise, you have allowed and have no plan to correct. Paul Brown started every training camp with what was allowed, and Paul had a plan. He always had a big fullback. He always had a smart quarterback. He always had his best athletes in the defensive backfield. He hired great assistant coaches, the most innovative people I've run across in professional football.

This franchise needs a leader in the front office. A leader connected to the team and coaches, with a plan to win. That plan starts with a person with full authority to replace or reassign any person in the organization. A person, who in word and deed, can declare what is allowed and not allowed. A person who then will hire the head coach, and then the two of them will hire the assistant coaches. That group can, then, assess where this franchise stands -- in direction, talent, purpose, perception and philosophy.

That assessment includes who you need to beat in your division and conference; who you have on your roster that make up the core of your team that you can build around; which players, or position, are a weakness; who you can add to your roster to make your team stronger and bring it closer to a championship; how the team travels, trains, tapes ankles, scouts, dresses, looks when the national anthem is played (Paul had us practice that). Losses say little, PB would remind us; and wins say less, PB also would remind us -- all a reflection of the man who started the franchise.

Mike, hire a known leader, give him full authority to run the team and hold him accountable. That's what your dad wanted, got, and handed to you.

Sincerely,

Bob Trumpy

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