Marvin's Men: A Look at The Cincinnati Bengals' Coaching Staff

With the 2009 season, Marvin Lewis is entering his seventh season at the helm of the Cincinnati Bengals. While last season's 4-11-1 mark (following a disappointing 7-9 year in 2007) has brought some heat on Lewis, changes within the organization haven't always been automatic. The Bengals currently employ five coaches who have been with the organization prior to Lewis's reign. The most tenured of which is Jim Anderson.

Anderson has been with Cincinnati since 1984 and in that time he has helped produce one of the few positions the Bengals have excelled at — running back. In his 25 seasons (now entering his 26th) he has produced four Pro Bowl running backs (James Brooks, Harold Green, Corey Dillon and Rudi Johnson) as well as a Pro Bowl full back in Lorenzo Neal. For the better part of two decades Anderson has been turning mid-level draft picks into all-stars. His best backs are often strong, running-down-hill types that don't shy away from contact. A good thing considering the Bengals' offensive line's inability to block during the 1990s and early portion of this decade. Anderson came to Cincinnati after being an assistant coach at Stanford for four seasons. Prior to that he had bounced around the college ranks.

While Anderson's success has been nothing short of impressive considering the Bengals' lack of competent offense for the past 20 seasons, the offensive coordinator position has once again found itself with the ire of Cincinnati pointed toward it. Bob Bratkowski, entering his ninth season as the Bengals OC, directed the leagues worst offense in 2008. The Bengals averaged a measly 245.4 yards per game last season.

While it would be stupid to leave out the fact that the Bengals were without Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer for the majority of the season and had issues with a disgruntled Chad Ochocinco AND attempted to play a big bulk of the season without a legitimate running back — fans, and media, were still expecting production better than 32nd in the league.

Bratkowski has had some very effective offenses in the past (2005 in Cincinnati for one), so it's not like 2008 will define his career. In 1997, while in Seattle, he was the genius behind the best passing offense in the league (247.4 ypg). A fan of the vertical game, Bratkowski is not afraid to air things out. But his attack is a balanced one (with Anderson coaching the ground game it'd be dumb not to) and, when run properly, can be very deadly.

A long time NFL guy, Bratkowski came to Cincinnati after two years as an assistant in Pittsburgh. Prior to that he was the offensive coordinator for Seattle for three seasons following three seasons as a Seahawks assistant. Bratkowski has also been the leader of Washington State's offense (OC from '87-'88) as well as Miami's (FL) ('89-'91). Previous to that he was the OC at Wyoming ('86) and Weber State ('81-'85).

While Bratkowski and the offense received most of the hatred from Bengals fans in 2008, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer received nothing but praise. Brought in prior to the 2008 season to replace Chuck Bresnahan.

Under Bresnahan, the Bengals had the 27th best defense in the NFL. Last season, Zimmer's first, the Bengals jumped all the way up the 12th best in the league. A defensive staple in the NFL, Zimmer isn't afraid to go all out. While in Dallas, he changed the Cowboys' franchise standard defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Earlier in his career, as a secondary coach with the Cowboys, he won a Super Bowl.

Zimmer's defenses are aggressive and attack the quarterback and love to turn the ball over. Last year, the Bengals — while improving defensively — ranked near the bottom of the league in interceptions (tied for 21) and sat tied, second from the bottom, in sacks (30th with 17). Zimmer and the Bengals made sure to address that issue this off-season, drafting Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson. They also signed safety Roy Williams and defensive tackle Tank Johnson to free agent contracts.

Those signings point toward a more aggressive style of play that Zimmer prefers. Zimmer can to Cincinnati after one year in Atlanta and more than a decade in Dallas. Prior to that, Zimmer was the defensive coordinator at Washington State. And prior to that he held the same position at Weber State.

While Zimmer gets most of the credit for last year's turnaround (and justifiably so) another Bengals coaching acquisition also stepped up big.

Jeff FitzGerald came to Cincinnati after four years in Baltimore. FitzGerald, the Bengals' linebackers coach, used a mixture of young and veteran players to run Zimmer's schemes in 2008. A fan of aggressive linebackers who are willing to both drop back into coverage as well as blitz have made his units some of the best in the NFL. FitzGerald coached four Raven linebackers to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and has been working with the position for his entire career.

FitzGerald broke into the NFL in 1990 with the Buccaneers. He coached linebackers in Tampa Bay for four years before taking up the same position in San Diego in 1994. He stayed there for four years before spending two in Washington. From there he went to Arizona for four seasons before heading to Baltimore.

FitzGerald has a knack for getting the best out of young linebackers (he did just that with Terrell Suggs in Baltimore) and has done so with the talent he's been given in Cincinnati.

While the offense came under fire last season and the defense became the darling, the Bengals' special teams continued to struggle in 2008.

The Bengals ranked sixth from the bottom in punting yards in 2007 (41.3) and dropped to dead last in the league a season ago (39.5). And while Cincinnati's drafting of a hometown kid in Kevin Huber should improve the franchise's terrible numbers at that position, it will take a lot more than that to help special teams coach Darrin Simmons.

Simmons has had some wonderful success while with the Bengals — especially with the productivity of Shayne Graham as kicker — but the team's issues with the punting unit have often overshadowed those positives.

Overall, the Bengals have experienced a lot of ups and downs with special teams in Simmons' tenure (which began with Lewis' reign). In 2005, Graham made the Pro Bowl and Tab Perry had some breakout weeks returning kick offs. But in the years since the franchise's kickoff and punt coverage has come under scrutiny.

Simmons came to Cincinnati after four years in Carolina and a previous season in Baltimore.