Marvin Lewis Quotes

From Bengals.com, Enquirer Bengals, and Cincy Post Bengals

"This is about hard work," said Lewis, the son of a western Pennsylvania steel worker. "Places don't lose. People win and lose. I have a plan."

 "We're going to set a standard for how it's going to be. People would say I'm a disciplinarian. There is a right way to do things, but you can't coach 53 guys the same way."

"I don't think my plan has changed the last couple of years," Lewis said at a press conference in Point Clear, Ala., "It's been basically the same plan

 "You can't tell an owner who his coach is going to be," said Lewis. "It's got to feel right for him."

 "When you say no to something, you don't know what's the next thing coming," Lewis said. "The thing we want to do is play with great enthusiasm. We want to play with a discipline and effort and finish everything we do. I think that's what separates you and can get you over the hump in the NFL. It's how you finish things. We want to start fast but we've got to finish things. That's important to me."

"I don't think places win or lose," said Lewis. "Obviously, the coaches before me have worked hard as well, but I have a plan to do these things, to get the little things done, to bring the professionalism of our team up, cultivate the guys we have and to add players to it and to get everybody moving in the right direction.

"Everything goes back to the hard work, the discipline and the finish it takes to be a winning team in the NFL."

Soon. Very soon," was the time frame Lewis gave for having his first talk with Dillon and trying to bring him back into the fold

Asked later what a successful first season would be, Mr. Lewis said, "That you are not sitting out there and somebody else is standing here."

"We don't do this business without wanting to play on this final Sunday," he said of the Super Bowl, "When you don't win that last game, it's like you fall off that cliff. Let's not fall off that cliff. Why do we do this? To win that championship."

"If we're not in the Super Bowl next year, I hope none of our guys want to go there and take part in any of the activities," he said. "You have to earn your way there. That's what I told those guys in Baltimore all the time. You don't need to go and be a part of it. Sit at home and get upset where you have to shut your TV off. We can earn our way there. It's not out of reach."

"I don't know about the past," he said. "I just know what I can do for the future and I have the ability to direct a program. I don't know if anyone else has stood here before and told you that. That's why the job was attractive to me. I have the ability to shape and mold everything we do, and from this point forward, I get to do that."

His philosophy of football: "You have to be aggressive, in all three areas of the game. You're going to be successful for a longer period of time when your football team realizes you have to be able to run the football."

Disciplining players, including the possibility of terminating a player's contract: "Quite frankly we might need a little of that addition by subtraction around here. We're going to set some things straight right away. ... Your little corporation can flourish or it can go bankrupt in a hurry."

On his coaching style: "The coaches who come through this building are going to be excellent teachers. They're going to work well together. They're going to push these guys from sunup to sundown. If we have to wait for them to come out of the parking lot, we're going to be standing there waiting for them. If we have to go from the dental chair to the proctologist, that's what we're going to do."

I felt like (the Bengals) were really looking for somebody to lead the program, to be out front and really do everything he can to make this team successful, from soup to nuts.

From sunup to sundown, there's a direction that we need to have to be successful, and I felt very comfortable with Mike allowing me to do that. -- There's a lot of specifics that the details would probably bore you

The personnel staff in Baltimore felt a lot of criticism until we won a championship. That's one of the things Mike and I are continually (discussing). I don't want to say, yes, we're going to hire eight scouts tomorrow, because that's not going to be the case.

“It’s all about winning,” Lewis said. “Whatever it takes to win. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been around winning teams and it’s about being organized and knowing what has to get done. It’s a good opportunity. I remember when that stadium rocked and they called it “The Jungle,” and I think it can get back to that.”

“I could feel their enthusiasm for winning,” said Lewis, when asked why he would take over the Brown family’s team. “Where they were headed and why it was important to get the right coach in place in order to win. I think as a football team we have a lot of players at that point in their careers where winning is so important to them. What we’ve got to get changed around is realizing as some times players are a part of the problem, but right now we have to make them part of the solution. We have to transition that in their minds.

“Before you win, you have to learn how to win, or more importantly, how not to lose,” Lewis said. “It’s about hard work. I don’t think places win or lose. I have a plan to do these things. To get the little things done, to bring the professionalism of our team up. To cultivate the guys we have.”

When ask about hiring Ricky Hunley. “I don’t know if Mike’s ready for that yet,” said Lewis with a laugh

“We want to play with great enthusiasm, with a discipline, and effort and finish everything we do,” Lewis said. “In the NFL, it’s how you finish things. We want to start fast but you have to finish things. Our effort, how we practice, we have to uplift our team at a high energy level at all times.”

About Le Beau. “He taught me how to deal with players on an every day basis in the NFL and for that I’m appreciative,” Lewis said.

“Whatever color you are, it’s hard work,” Lewis said. “I think I’m representative of the coaches that have come up as I have through the ranks.”

“We’re going to be working hard and I think people would be appreciative of that, and hopefully that will change some things,” Lewis said.

“They know a right way and a wrong way and we’re going to keep reinforcing the right way,” Lewis said. “You have to be fair. You can't coach 53 guys the same way, but I think you have to have to coach all 53 guys and we’re going to coach 53 guys from sun up and sun down and they will realize that right away.”

“You need a mix of young and old,’ said Lewis of the makeup of his staff. “I’m looking for great teachers, the best that can be found.”

“We have to be able to stop the run and apply pressure on the football,” Lewis said. “And that’s in all areas. I don’t want to worry about what was before with Dick and Mark, but that’s what I think is important.”

“I don’t sense it, I know it is,” said Lewis when asked about having the call on personnel. “That’s what all the talks have been about from the start. He wants a head coach. That’s what head coaches do.”

When ask about Spikes comments. “He was making a decision based on what had gone on (before),” said Lewis. I don’t think that’s probably fair,” Lewis said. “Now maybe it is in his mind and if it is, we’re going to wish him good luck. Not one guy makes up a football team. He’s one hell of a football player and I think he can help us be successful and I think I can help him be successful. So I think the marriage of the two people is something that everybody in this building would feel good about it.” “They should be able to give their opinion, but if it’s positive,” said Lewis, alluding to Spikes’ comments. “There s really no reason to jump to conclusions one way or the other.”

On not being Bengals President Mike Brown’s puppet: “The head coach has to direct the football team and there’s a lot of areas and a lot of things that you have a chance to input and be a part of everything to do with the players because that’s what makes us successful.”

On addition by subtraction: “You only get one chance to make an impression. If we miss that chance, we’re right back down the same road.” Everything has been done with my approval. I have the opportunity to hire each and every staff member here. You have my assurances of that.

The mantra is, we're going to be an aggressive football team. Why we do this is to win the championship

"What I'm going to hammer home to our guys is, we're not that far away," Lewis said. "We're going to hammer home competition, preparation and diligence in everything we do. We're going to become better professionals. We're going to learn how to study, we're going to learn how to meet, we're going to learn how to do everything we do and look like professionals. And on Sunday, that's going to come out in how we play."

The coaches are going to push these guys from sunup to sundown. We'll meet them in the parking lot. If we've got to go from the dental chair to the proctologist, that's where we'll be.

"There's some guys on this football team who have the opportunity to be successful," he said. "If you look at the Super Bowl teams, it's not the team with the best players, it's the best team that's been successful. That's what you've got to have.

"If we had a team meeting right now, today, these are the guys that are going to make a difference for us in 2003. We may add this guy, we may add that guy, but it's the guys that would be sitting in this room right now that would make the difference for us in being successful, and they have to understand that."

“I have the ability to direct the program,” said Lewis “I don’t know if anybody else stood here before and was able to tell you that, and that’s why the job was attractive to me. I have the ability to shape and mold everything we do, and from this time forward, I get to do that.”

“ Frankly, we might need a little of that addition by subtraction around here,” said Lewis of his ability to cut players who don’t produce or behave. “We’re going to set some things straight right away on how things are going to be and how things are going to be run.”

“Everything has been done with my approval,” Lewis said. “I have the opportunity to hire each and every football staff member here. You have my assurance of that. Any staff decisions being made are because of my direction.”

“You’re not going to want to hear this, but we’re going to learn how to curb that stuff, too,” said Lewis of the bimonthly rip jobs by a player in the media. “We can’t help ourselves by going out and venting. If they have a problem, they talk to me. If it’s bigger than me, they can talk to Mike. But we shouldn’t have to go even there. We can’t help ourselves by pointing (the finger) ‘It ain’t my fault.’ That’s not going to work here. We can take care of our family within our family.”

Lewis said players shouldn’t worry about “junior high stuff,” because, “this is professional football.”

“I wanted a guy who knows how I coach defense and knows what I want from players,” said Lewis of Hunley, the only defensive coach who has worked under him.

“For us to be as successful as we talk like we want to be, as football players, that will be the first part of the commitment,” Lewis said in announcing his coaching staff. “ From that point on, it’s voluntary to be here. Winning is voluntary. There’s got to be an esprit de corps, a working together. Relationships are built in that period of time, and we have a structure where they can be here for a few weeks at a time.”

On Frazier; “He’s the defensive coordinator. He’ll call the plays. I’m not going to overstep that,” Lewis said. “You can’t do that. I’m going to be overseeing offense, defense and special teams. I have enough to learn to be the head coach.” “I don’t know him, but I’ve coached against him,” Lewis said. “That’s the way it is with most of these guys. How they interact with people. How they coach. That’s why I hired them. I like how he presents things and his temperament.”

“We’ll get the work done,” said Lewis, referring to blocks of time that will allow players to come and go . “That’s why these guys have been hired. To facilitate that and (monitor) those guys from afar.”

“We’ve got a minicamp April 11,” Lewis says, “but Jon, Akili and the quarterbacks are coming in April 6 or 7 to get together and throw with the receivers.”

“It’s a privilege to do what we do and a blessing to be able to give back,” Lewis says. “I think being confident off the field ties into being confident on the field. It says something about you.”

On getting computers and power pointers “It’s a quicker and easier presentation than overlays with projectors,” Lewis says. “And it’s easier to file than using manila folders. With these guys so used to using computers and video games, it’s what they’re used to.”

“A lot of these guys have already worked out at the combine,” Lewis says. “What’s the value of going back and doing it again? A lot of people go just because somebody else goes. We’re going to supplement our work by watching a lot of tape. You can get a lot more done watching tape here than going to one workout.”

“Everybody is watching us. From Jay Leno to everybody else,” Lewis said Monday night. “We’re starting over. The past is the past. Everything is going to be positive and upbeat around here. Treat others like you would like to be treated.”

“I think it’s great for Tampa,” said Lewis, architect of the last defensive-minded championship. “I’m happy for Jon. We’ll get our turn.”

“Now is when the coaches start making contact with their position players,” Lewis said. “That’s always important and you begin reinforcing when the off-season workouts begin and the date of the minicamps.”

“That means we’re all accountable to each other. Players and coaches,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to remember why we’re here. We’ve got a job to do and if we don’t do it, that’s where the accountability comes in.”

On Neal “He’s a guy who has played well here and we’d like to get him back if we can,” Lewis said

“Your preference is always to sign your own players to keep things in place,” Lewis said “If it’s possible and it doesn’t cut off your arms to save your leg. That’s a decision that won’t be made until it has to be made.”

Asked if the Bengals can afford two big-ticket linebackers, Lewis said, “It’s all part of a process. You have to look at it and decide what’s the best overall thing for the team.

“Believe it or not, I’m not going to give them a good impression unless we come to terms with them financially,” said Lewis with tongue firmly in cheek about getting players to stay. “For a veteran, it’s usually opportunity, the chance to be successful, and then money. Sometimes with a young guy, money might get in the way of what’s right for them and a good opportunity.”

“That’s not my decision,” said Lewis when asked how much cash over cap he’s willing to go. “That’s not the way of the NFL anymore. Go from team to team, and that’s not the way. Eventually, that cash eats into the cap.

“How much do you do cash over cap? That’s up to the owners and management of these teams,” Lewis said. “They know that money is basically out on a credit card and at some point that money is going to come due. We’ve all seen the ramifications of that.”

“Who is the player and what do you call a big bonus?” Lewis asked. “You don’t know until the market develops.”

“It’s got to be Leslie who ultimately has to call the game,” said Lewis, who has been the defensive coordinator at his last two stops. “If I get in the way of that, it’s not going to work out very well. But I’ll be involved in everything we do.”

Lewis and his assistant coaches, , will gather to pass judgment on every member the football team. "That's the process that hasn't been taking place," he said.

"You have to evaluate your guys. Even though you do it week in and week out, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. You've got to do it at the end of the year and go back and say, 'Where is this guy? This is a young guy; are we better off with a veteran here, or letting this guy grow into the position?' Or if he's a veteran, 'By us doing more of this or that, can we make this guy a more productive player?'

"We sit down every morning because, right now, I don't know what we're asking a certain guy to do offensively. I can give my viewpoint on what he should be asked to do, but I want to make sure it's in line with what we've been asking him to do."

"We will add some veteran players," Lewis said Thursday, squeezing in some time between working the halls and meeting his realtor. "I don't think that's a problem.

"There are no must-get guys, but there are guys that I like their style of play. They stay on their feet, they bend their knees and they can run. What I don't know is how they retain football. That's what we have to judge through the free-agency process."

There are guys," he said, "who have made a mental note on me. Those are the phone calls I'm getting. They're guys who are in Hawaii (at the Pro Bowl) now who are free agents. You can't really talk with those guys, because it's not that period, but there have been guys who've come up to me and said, 'Hey coach, when you get that chance, I want to come.' Some of those, we'll see if they fit."

"It depends on where we are budget-wise," said Lewis. "There's a lot of other ways to skin a cat. That's what people have to understand."

On Hiring Bill Tobin; “This gives us an experienced person at a critical point in our scouting,” Lewis said. “It helps allow us to properly evaluate player talent.”

“It’s more important for the players to have that, not necessarily for the rest of the organization,” said Lewis of the one voice. “It’s probably the best thing for the players. To know where things stand.”

“The Bengals have been successful in constructing contracts that have awarded a guy for playing and the standards have been good standards,” Lewis said. “If you’re able to get a good market deal done that way and get the guy signed, I think that’s a plus. It’s been good for both sides. It puts the onus on the player, yet he’s compensated for it.”

“There’s got to be focus and within our family,” Lewis said. “The players can get used to who is going to be around and it becomes familiar.”

“I want Takeo to understand the importance and value of being here,” Lewis said. “I would like him to be here. It’s important for him.”

“I know he had enough talent to be picked as the third player in the country,” Lewis said. “I’m not going to give up on him.

“Jon has earned the job, there’s no question about that,” he said

On Palmer, “Sure, we’ll consider a guy like that,” said Lewis of the NFL Draft’s first pick. “He’s a good player. He’s got good stature in the pocket. He has a nice arm. But I want to look at the other quarterbacks, too.”

"The quarterback has got to be a play-making guy," he said. "That doesn't necessarily mean he's got to be the most important guy, but at the end of the day he's probably the most important guy."

"The next thing is project study," said Lewis. "Who are the best red-zone teams in football, offensively and defensively? Who are the best teams on third down? If we want to do more two-tight-end, two-wideout stuff, who are the best teams at using that personnel? Who are the best pressure teams defensively? Two-minute -- what are people doing in those situations? Those are the things you study.

"What are they doing that we can maybe add to our system? What fits? Because you have to know the background of why they do what they do. Football is a stacking process. If you try to start up here instead of down here, you get blown up because you don't know how they got to that."

The camaraderie of the football team, the accountability to the guy beside me, and all those things. Until we gain some credibility with each other, and accountability and dependability, we'll struggle.

"The older guys already know that. The Darrell Greens, Rod Woodsons of the world, the Bill Romanowskis, they know the importance of what that room provides for them. The other guys have to understand the importance of it."

"We're not going to get into the woe-is-me syndrome," he said. "What you say is, 'What fundamental do we need to work on to improve this or make sure it doesn't happen again?'

"It's not a syndrome. It's not this building. It's not Mike Brown. It's not Dick LeBeau. It starts upstairs, but it comes down to the players and fundamentals."

Lewis is the only person allowed to speak for the team.

"That's the way Mike would like it to be," Lewis said

"It's everything that everybody said it wasn't going to be," Lewis said. "We're taking steps every day. We're not going to take leaps and bounds until we get onto the field and win some football games."

"There's been a scapegoat," Lewis said. "There only needs to be one scapegoat. Mike gets a lot of criticism that maybe is not due him and the family.

"He's ready to let somebody else shoulder the responsibility of running his team, albeit I am part of his sounding board and he is part of mine and he is the boss."

It fit what I think you need to be successful," Lewis said. "Otherwise, the players are like, 'I don't know which way to do. Do I go to Mike, or do I go to Marvin, or do I go to my position coach?"'

"If we go down, we all go down in a ball of flames," he said

Ask Lewis the most pleasant surprise he has had in his first month here, he says: "The number of people who think one person can make such a big difference. There are no such things as gurus. This is about having a vision, establishing a plan and working hard at it. Pushing and prodding. It's not about X's and O's. It's about communication and people."

Ask him what has been least pleasant, he says this: "Players blaming Mike Brown. I've been around guys who, five years after they finish playing, are going to Canton. And they would never do that. Part of the deal here now is to change things that way."

"You get a chance now," Lewis says. "I don't really know you. You want to be a pro, we're here to help you."

"It's everything we do. We've got to look good when we come into work, from the time we come in to the time we leave," Lewis says. "You're a professional athlete. Don't have your pants sagging off your butt. Look like a professional. If you want to hang with the guys on the corner, go ahead. We've got a lot of guys we can get to replace you."

"Winning," he says, "is also voluntary."

"Either by guys here or through the draft or free agency, we're going to continue to upgrade the future at quarterback and bring a competitive situation in there," Lewis said.

"This is a game that if you can't get the ball vertically downfield in the passing game, you're going to struggle," he said.

"There are a few guys who have that kind of ability, who have a chance to be a significant upgrade and future Pro Bowl guys," Lewis said of Rogers and other prospects. "With that first pick, you've got to pick an impact guy."

"We've got to upgrade the defensive line. That goes without saying," Lewis said. "We had some guys who had injuries there, and we'd like to upgrade there either through free agency or the draft or both."

"We have to upgrade at corner and safety," Lewis said. "We have some young guys who were picked last year at safety

"I think you like to watch the guy compete," Lewis said. "You like to see him around other people. Again, when you sit down with them for those six, seven, nine, 10 minutes, you (the player) almost have to be a moron to screw that up.

"The more attention to detail and time you can spend, the more intelligently you can look at his resume."

“Particularly for Nick, it’s to his advantage that he probably waits a little bit in free agency,” Lewis said. “It just makes sense. With Lorenzo, he’s a mature player (32 years old) who has been through this. He knows what the market is going to be and it’s an easy decision for him. It’s in Nick’s interest to wait this out a little bit. He’s gone this far. See what the interest is.” We can expand his role and get some good things out of him,” Lewis said. “He’s got to meet us halfway and get himself in condition to handle that role.”