By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dick LeBeau, fired Monday as the Bengals' head coach, was described as a good man and a consummate professional by those close to the team.But for an NFL head coach, decency and professionalism can't overcome a 12-33 record.

"It was inevitable," said Dave Lapham, who played for the Bengals from 1974-83 and has been the color analyst for their radio broadcasts for 17 years. "I know it was a distasteful thing for (team president) Mike (Brown). He didn't want to do it. I hope he assumed some of the responsibility in his conversation with Dick.

"It certainly wasn't all Dick's fault. There's not a better guy than Dick LeBeau, not a more professional guy than Dick LeBeau."

Lapham said LeBeau helped seal his own fate by running a lax training camp last summer.

"It was a calculated risk and it backfired big-time," Lapham said. "I think he feels it's a players' league and a players' game. I can't agree with that. I think you still have to instill a certain amount of accountability and discipline. He feels it's a long season and he didn't want to wear guys down in training camp. He didn't come close to even challenging them.

"It took them a month or two to recover from being hit in the mouth by the Chargers (in their season opener). It was a joke. They never recovered. That was a knockout punch."

Former Bengal Mike Martin, now Taft High School's head football coach, said LeBeau didn't have enough control to lead the Bengals out of their losing morass.

"I hated to see (LeBeau) get mixed up in this situation," Martin said. "But it was time. The players weren't responding to him. When you go into a situation, you either deal with it or move on. He decided to deal with it, knowing what he was getting into, with his hands basically tied.

"When a player isn't accountable for what they do and you're the guy who's supposed to be in charge, you lose respect. Those players did what they wanted to do. They knew coach LeBeau didn't cut a lot of people."

In the past, when Brown fired his coach, he had another waiting in the wings. But in this case, Brown offered no hint as to whom he might be considering as LeBeau's replacement, perhaps an indication that he intends to look outside the organization.

"It's been as tight-lipped down there and as quiet as I've ever heard," Lapham said. "In the past, he's (announced a new coach immediately) because it's been within his little confines. To me, that's an indication that he knows he's got some work to do."

Martin said it doesn't matter who the new coach is as long as Brown and his management staff remain intact.

"It'll be the same situation," Martin said, "unless he lets the new coach do things the way he sees fit. I'll believe it when I see it.

"Anybody who has been in this organization since 1990 shouldn't be part of it. You let them all go. You don't want anybody connected with what has happened to this team in the past. You've got to start from scratch. We want fresh attitudes and all new outlooks."

The Bengals' assistant coaches continued on the job Monday, waiting to learn their fates after a new coach is hired. Brown promised that the new coach would be free to hire his own staff.

"It's tough," running backs coach Jim Anderson said. "Right now, I'm just like everyone else. I'm in limbo."

Said quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson: "I feel very bad for Dick. He's a great guy and a good football coach."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

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