Keeping Bob Bratkowski Is No Surprise Considering Mike Brown's Loyalty

The decision to bring back Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski has drawn mixed emotions among fans this offseason.

Despite the seventh best running game in the NFL led by Cedric Benson, the team struggled to put points on the board each week, averaging just 19.1 points per game. They also failed to stay consistent in the passing game, an area that seemed to be one of their strengths on paper.

Not only was Carson Palmer returning to full strength after missing most of 2008 with an elbow injury, but Cincinnati seemed to have an advantage at the wide receiver position. With the addition of Laveranues Coles' speed to play alongside Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, many expected Palmer to bounce back with one of the best seasons of his seven-year career.

Instead, the Bengals were forced to rely heavily on their running game, which is hard to do when playing catch-up in the NFL.

Bratkowski has been with Cincinnati since 2001 after stints with the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. While the offense has struggled the last two years, there was a time when Bratkowski helped the Bengals finish in the top 10 in overall offense for three seasons from 2005-07.

Lately, job security as a coach in the NFL seems to be one of the most difficult things to come by. While some coaches usually receive the benefit of the doubt by earning at least two or three seasons to make an impact for their team, others have lost their job after just one disappointing season. Take a look at what happened to Jim Mora with the Seahawks—who was fired after finishing 5-11 in his first and only season as head coach.

With the rate of coaches coming and going in the NFL, why is Bratkowski still the Bengals offensive coordinator?

While Bengals' fans scratch their heads asking this question, there is one man that comes to mind who seems to be the reason behind this decision.

Mike Brown.

Ever since he stepped in for his father as owner and general manager of the Bengals, Brown has been criticized for his inability to run a successful franchise. Since taking over in 1991, Cincinnati has started a season 0-8 four times—with the last one coming in 2008.

The lack of success during Brown's tenure with the Bengals is no secret. His disappointing record of 101-190-1, along with 0-2 in the playoffs, seems to be the type of numbers that would have made an owner step down years ago. However, he has stayed loyal to his ownership with the Bengals, just as he has with his coaches and players throughout his career.

Brown has received some heavy criticism throughout his career for the loyalty shown to his coaches and players when most owners would have parted ways in his situation.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has been with the team for seven years, yet has made the playoffs just twice and a losing record of 56-57-1 (including playoffs). With any other team in the NFL, he most likely would have been fired years ago.

Lewis is just one example of the type of loyalty Brown shows to members of his organization, no matter how rough the situation may seem. Year after year Lewis seemed to be on the hot seat as the Bengals seemed to have one of the best offenses on paper, yet continued to struggle. Lucky for him, his hot seat cooled down after Cincinnati surprised all of the doubters by finishing 6-0 in the AFC North for the first time in franchise history and claiming its first division title since 2005.

Along with Lewis, Brown has shown loyalty to players, keeping some around despite their struggles—like wide receiver Chris Henry.

Before passing away in December, Henry was the type of player who built a reputation for his inability to stay out of trouble with the law. He was arrested numerous times between 2005-08 and was even suspended eight games in 2007 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Henry was waived by Brown in April 2008 following another arrest before re-signing him prior to the start of the regular season in August. Most owners would never even consider re-signing a troubled player like Henry after his troubled past.

Not Brown.

His loyalty to giving Henry another chance as a member of the Bengals was a move that seemed crazy at first, but turned out to be inspiring heading into the 2009 season. After all of the troubles in the past, Henry finally seemed to be on the path to turning his life around, and he was being praised among members of the media and teammates—including Palmer.

It's no secret Brown's loyalty to coaches and players can be frustrating at times, with the Bratkowski situation falling under that category.

Hopefully with the Bratkowski situation, loyalty pays off, and the Bengals can improve their offense and return near the top of the league where they were a few years ago.

Dan Parzych is the Cincinnati Bengals Examiner for Examiner.com.

He is also the founder of WhoDeyBengals.com.

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