LOS ANGELES — The guy who built the Bengals would dispute he’s responsible for it. He wasn’t on the podium after Cincinnati won the AFC championship. He was on the coaches’ headset during the game, but only to listen. He basically operates as the team’s general manager, if only he cared about having the title.
He could use all of this to become visible, yet is totally fine being able to walk clear through the concourse at Paul Brown Stadium on game day without a single fan stopping him.
Duke Tobin built the Marvin Lewis Bengals into a team that went to the playoffs five straight years, survived Lewis’s departure and has built an even better team for Zac Taylor—one that’s arriving here in California two days from now for its first Super Bowl in 33 years. His fingerprints are all over a rebuild that’s been total—punter Kevin Huber, snapper Clark Harris and tight end C.J. Uzomah are the only ones left from Lewis’s last playoff team.
