Bengals find a scapegoat, fire offensive coordinator Ken Zampese
When you become the first NFL team since 1939 to start a season with two home games and no touchdowns, changes are going to be made.
The Cincinnati Bengals, after an incredibly poor performance on Thursday night against the Houston Texans, fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese, according to Paul Dehner of the CIncinnati Enquirer and other reports. The Dolphins and Buccaneers haven’t even played a game yet and already there has been a coordinator fired this season.
The Bengals had to do something. Zampese’s play-calling through two games was uninspired. But it wasn’t the only reason Cincinnati has nine points in two games. The offensive line can’t block anyone, which limits what any coordinator would be able to do. Quarterback Andy Dalton, perhaps due to the cumulative effect of the pressure, couldn’t complete easy passes on Thursday night even when he had time.
A.J. Green also sounded off postgame, telling reporters that the team needed to get him the ball more.
Even though it wasn’t all Zampese’s job, it was clear he wasn’t helping much and it’s no surprise he was fired.
[Enter the $150K Baller football contest. $10 to play and $15K to 1st place]
Usually two things happen after a coordinator is fired: The team gets better or the head coach is next. One has to wonder how hot Marvin Lewis’ seat is. The Bengals were at home Thursday night, against a Texans team giving a rookie quarterback his first career start, with a long injury list that by the game included both starting cornerbacks, and Cincinnati still lost to fall to 0-2. Last season wasn’t good for the Bengals, and this season is starting off much worse.
Perhaps a coordinator change will fix things. If not, you have to assume more changes are on the way.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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