Even for those who didn’t see him play at the time, one glance at former Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon’s numbers makes it clear he deserves to be in the Bengals Ring of Honor.
And the Hall of Fame, too.
Dillon recently made his case for the Ring of Honor during a sitdown with Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, blasting the Bengals and the process:
Dillon: I don’t pull no punches, and I’m not ducking anybody. I don’t have no friends I’m trying to protect, so I can speak freely about whatever I need to speak freely about. It’s damn-near criminal, what (Bengals Ring of Honor voters) are pulling off, to be honest with you. Did I not play for them? I don’t know, bro. I’m curious about that. Because it looks like they are glossing over me. For what reason? Because I left? That’s not a good enough reason. You are telling me there’s five other guys better than me — at my position? And trust me, this is no knock on whoever is getting in, who goes in, that’s not what it is about. It’s about what is your excuse going to be? I’m pretty sure they will put f—ing Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, Scott Mitchell will end up in that motherf—er before I do.
Dillon takes major issue with the popularity vote given to season-ticket holders, too, and went on to say this about the current makeup of the Ring of Honor: “To be honest, to keep it real, I’m the most decorated Bengal, period, outside of Anthony Muñoz — much respect; that’s one of my idols. He put in the work. So did both Kens (Riley and Anderson). Other than that, I should have been the next dude on.”
For context, season-ticket holders get to pick from a double-digit list of nominees, while the team itself has automatically enshrined others. The plan is to keep the number of inductees each year at a minimum, which makes sense to avoid diluting the meaning of the honor.
And for Dillon-based context, he broke Jim Brown’s rookie rushing record, rushed for 1,100-plus yards in each of his first six seasons on some miserable teams and finished alongside some all-time greats of the modern era with 11,241 yards and 82 touchdowns, winning a Super Bowl, too.
The problem for Dillon is … the team’s Ring of Honor has been around just two years. The current inductees:
- Ken Anderson (inagural)
- Paul Brown (inagural)
- Anthony Munoz (inagural)
- Ken Riley (inaugural)
- Isaac Curtis
- Willie Anderson
- TBA
- TBA
That’s multiple Hall of Famers, a few more who probably should be, Paul Brown and others — not exactly a list Dillon should necessarily be on in the first two years of the Ring of Honor’s existence. Tack on Dillon’s so-so relationship with longtime fans who saw his bitter exit and comments about the organization as playing an unmistakable factor, too.
Dillon is on this year’s list of candidates, but he’s attempting to fend off names like Chad Johnson, Boomer Esiason and James Brooks, so he could easily miss again.
As a whole, there’s nothing wrong with Dillon resurfacing to campaign for his Ring and Hall worthiness — he deserves both. But with the Ring of Honor, there’s a logjam of sorts at the very top. Guys who played a pivotal role in the organization and were mainstays without major departures or issues — atop possible Hall of Fame flirtations — will continue to push him aside.
It’s a matter of when, not if, for Dillon in the Bengals Ring of Honor, but it’s not shocking if the time isn’t now.
