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Originally Posted by bucksfan2
The Bengals weren't just bad, they were an embarrassment. The county had just built the Bengals a new stadium and they were getting sued but and I would also imagine the NFL was a co-defendant. When Marvin was hired things changed in this organization and I don't think it was just Marvin. I think it came from a little pushing from the NFL as well as Katie Blackburn.
Starting in 2005 (I believe) the Bengals have sold out the season in season tickets. IIRC they had a season ticket waiting list starting in the 2007 season. So yea for a couple of years in a row Mike had all ticket revenue in his pocket before training camp began. Its a pretty big incentive to get the stadium sold out.
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What changed when Marvin came in was the fact that there was a coach with enough credibility to challenge Mike Brown. Before, when Mike Brown would dictate that he wanted the team to be run a certain way, what were Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, or Dick LeBeau going to do? They owed their coaching lives to Brown. Even LeBeau who obviously had credibility as a defensive coordinator, was never considered to be a head coach anywhere else.
When Marvin came in, he was able to demand that he would have say in how the team was made up, how the camp was run, and how the team would act. Also, after 10 years of perpetual awfulness, I think Mike Brown saw a better solution in that he wouldn't have to answer questions after every loss or losing season. He was able to say "Okay, it's all on you."
The irony in my mind is that Brown had probably wanted to do that for 10 years, but Shula, Coslet, and LeBeau were not strong enough to actually pull it off.