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Dunlap: Marvin Lewis Is An Enabler

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Mike Brown owns the Cincinnati Bengals.

He is apparently a really smart guy. Brown went to Dartmouth and followed that up by graduating from Harvard Law School.

You would think with that big brain, Mr. Brown could figure out just how much of a detriment head coach Marvin Lewis has become to his franchise.

But, hey --- we live in Pittsburgh. So maybe it's for the better that Mr. Brown never figures it out; that way Steelers fans can count on Lewis overseeing a group of boors and louts who famously and invariably will fritter away games because they just can't behave. No, they just can't seem to walk a straight line when the time calls for it.

Or, maybe we should look at all this another way.

Hell, it's Christmastime. Maybe Steelers fans should get in the spirit by taking the time to write Mr. Brown a card thanking him for keeping Marvin Lewis employed, thanking Mr. Brown for allowing the enabler to enable.

Marvin Lewis sure seems to be a guy who allows some of his players to act like miscreants --- and with it bolster the chances the Steelers beat the Bengals even when the proposition looks bleakest.

You see, that's the part that I just can't understand. By all accounts Marvin Lewis --- and we have a few mutual friends --- is a wonderful guy off the field. A man who you'd want to hang out with; a guy you'd invite over for a cookout with your group of pals and spend the day knocking a couple beers back and watching the games.

But, for some reason, Marvin Lewis is allergic to accountability in the football coaching realm. The latest incidents came on Sunday when his Bengals were ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers and squandered any chances at a victory by committing four consecutive penalties.

His Bengals were undisciplined, unmanageable and disorderly --- as they always seem to be; I mean, you surely remember the playoffs last season?

And what did Lewis have to say after Sunday's embarrassment about those four penalties and the kind of behavior such as well-known ruffian Vontaze Burfict flinging Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the ground and drawing a personal foul?

Well, according to Lewis they were bad calls.

And his team got screwed.

And everyone hates them.

And Pacman (he's "Adam" now) Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick and Burfict are never wrong, they are always the victim.

And some side judge --- who Lewis went so far as to call out by name --- got caught up in the excitement of the moment of a Steelers-Bengals game.

Really, Marvin Lewis? No accountability?

Yinz never do nuthin' wrong? Puh-leeeze.

This is all so hilarious to me how owner Mike Brown can allow the man charged with the duty of commanding the players to act in such a manner. Of course, then, the players are going to follow Lewis' lead and never wise up.

So, yeah, Mike Brown has all those fancy, Ivy League degrees. He's apparently a smart man. Really smart, actually.

But until he gets smart enough to get rid of Marvin Lewis, the Cincinnati Bengals are going to be a roughshod outfit that acts in a crass manner --- especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And it is going to continue to cost them.

Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.

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