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The Bengals have had some great coaches over the year, so I have some choices to make.
We have Paul Brown, Forest Greg, Sam Wyhce, and Bill Walsh.
Do I make the promotion that Paul Brown didn’t make, and promote Bill Walsh to head coach?
Or is it going to be Mr. you don’t live in Cleveland, Sam Wyhce?
Actually, I am selecting the originator of the Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown.
Many people in football claim that Paul Brown is the originator of the modern day offense, and even more claim that he is one of the greatest NFL coaches in history.
Paul Brown has more than backed up that claim by winning at every level he has ever coached at.
When he was at Massillon High School, where he played quarterback in his youth, he later returned to lead his team to an 80-8-2 record over nine years.
His days at Massillon were highlighted by a 35 game winning streak, and beating his bitter rival, Canton McKinley High School eight consecutive years.
After his success at his High School Alma Matter, Brown decided to make the jump to Division 1 college football, and took the reins of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Brown coached Ohio State from 1941-1943, compiling an 18-1-1 record.
In only his second year, Paul Brown led the Buckeyes to their first National Championship.
Paul recruited what was said to be the finest Ohio State class ever and went on to win the National Championship.
The most amazing thing about this is that the Buckeyes lost 18 lettermen off his roster due to graduation and military commitments.
In 1944, Paul Brown's military status was reclassified as 1-A; Brown was a Lieutenant in the Navy.
He was stationed to the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois, where he served as football coach for the Bluejackets.
The Bluejackets played other military service teams and college programs.
With Brown as head coach, the Bluejackets compiled a 15-5-2 record with one of his loses coming at the hands of his former team.
On Oct 21, 1944, Paul Brown led his Bluejackets into the Horseshoe to face the Ohio State Buckeyes, his team lost 26-6
In 1945, Paul Brown, while still being the coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes in Absentia, decided to travel north to Cleveland.
Who could blame him?
He signed a contract to coach the Cleveland Browns in their inception year, taking over as part-owner, general manager, vice-president, and head coach.
Arthur McBride, owner of the Browns, turned over most of the football decisions to Paul Brown.
One of Brown’s ideas was to have a "name the team" poll in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The name that won the competition was the Brown Bombers after heavyweight champion Joe Louis.
The name was then shortened to the Browns, leading to on going questions to if Brown named the team after himself, a rumor that is still around today.
Playing in the AAFC, Cleveland was the most dominant team in the league, winning all four championships that the league played.
After the 1949 season, the NFL and the AAFC merged into one league. The Browns were looked at as a second rate team, and there was talk that the Browns' weaknesses would be exposed in the NFL.
However, in their first game, the Browns routed the defending two-time champion Philadelphia Eagles 35-10.
The Browns swept through their first season in the NFL in route to winning the NFL Championship in their inaugural season.
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