However, in a rare opportunity for fans to hear from the Bengals’ de facto general manager at the end of a season, Tobin acknowledged the team’s failures, took accountability for his own shortcomings and expressed confidence in the ability for the Bengals to turn things around without a major overhaul. He just never provided any real solutions.
“It goes without saying this season is not what we expect, certainly not what we will accept, and everybody here knows that,” Tobin said in his opening statement. “It was frustrating, it was challenging, it was disappointing for all of us, but more importantly it was all those things for our fans. We feel that. That weighs on us. It hurts us, because we know they have high expectations for us. … The group we put out there did not fulfill those expectations. It motivates us to be better to put a group out there that will make the city proud, that will finish games. We have a lot of work to do this offseason.”
Cincinnati is moving forward with Tobin and coach Zac Taylor at the helm, and Tobin confirmed the organization does not plan to make any changes with its coaching staff or add to the scouting department to help identify talent to improve the roster.
Tobin said he believes in the group the Bengals have in the building because “they have shown that they can do it, they’re a collaborative group; they’re a smart group.” The productivity the team saw late in the season, even when there was nothing tangible to play for, also gives him the belief that the right people are in place to lead Cincinnati back to championship contention.
“I think we’re capable of it, but we’ve got to find the solutions to win and produce in the critical moments of games,” Tobin said. “The last two seasons have been derailed by critical moment execution errors. We have to find the group of 11 to put out there that will execute in the critical moments and I believe that we’ll do that.”
Tobin said the Bengals need to be aggressive in free agency, but they have to hit on draft picks, as well. They have been successful in both aspects of roster building in the past, but when free-agent signings like defensive linemen DJ Reader, Trey Hendrickson and Larry Ogunjobi and cornerbacks Chidoze Awuzie and Mike Hilton helped them get to the Super Bowl in 2021, they had Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on rookie deals.
That’s not the case now, but Tobin said they should still be able to sign impactful free agents.
“There’s 31 teams all looking at the same guys,” Tobin said. “You got to identify the right ones, then get them done. And you’re talking about, you know, BJ Hill and Larry Ogunjobi and Trey Hendrickson, all guys brought in by our scouting department, all guys identified by our scouting department, recommended by our scouting department, and all worked out well. Can that happen? Yes, it could happen. We got to find the right guys. They got to be available to us. They got to be open to coming to Cincinnati, and we’ve got to work out the contract. Those are all ifs. We’re not there yet. We’re not sure who’s available, what the options are, but yes, we’re open to improving our football team in any way that we can.”
The Bengals showed a willingness to try to change this season when they made the trade for Joe Flacco in Week 6. Tobin said there weren’t a lot of options to help fix the defense, though. They were counting on more production out of young players.
Tobin clarified that it’s not sustainable to build a team in free agency every year. Cincinnati has not gotten enough impact from top draft picks in recent years, and he said when the Bengals miss on a guy, it falls on him.
It takes continued collaboration, he said, to get those decisions correct moving forward, but he has to steer the ship in the right direction.
“You have to have your young guys come on,” Tobin said. “You have to. And whether it’s a one-year progression, two-year progression, three-year progression, those guys have to come on. If they don’t come on, that’s my fault. We’ve taken the wrong guys. We’re no longer drafting guys for second contracts and so forth. We need guys that come in and can give us some help right away and then grow into bigger roles quickly. We need that.”
When asked about the size of the scouting department — the smallest in the NFL — Tobin said it’s not about volume, and bad decisions made were not because of a lack of information.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
He spoke highly of the knowledge and collaboration among decision-makers, scouts and coaches, but said he understands that fans probably don’t believe in his ability to lead after three straight years missing the playoffs and just five playoff wins in his tenure since joining the Bengals in 1999.
“All I can do is work us out of it,” Tobin said. “We have done it before. ... We can add to the team in a lot of different areas. We have excellent scouts who give us the analysis. It’s on us to make the right decisions.”
Tobin said the entire staff will spend the offseason assessing what went right and what went wrong, and they will work together to find solutions. However, when asked what needs to change, he only pointed at the obvious need to win more games.
The Bengals were impacted this season by having their top-paid player on both sides of the ball miss nine games, with Joe Burrow needing turf toe surgery after his Week 2 injury and Trey Hendrickson sidelined the second half because of hip and pelvis injuries.
Moving forward, they have to be able to overcome that. Cincinnati simply couldn’t finish close games, and Tobin said they need to change the team’s DNA in that regard because even one of the best offenses in the league was not complicit in that this year while giving up nine touchdowns directly off turnovers.
Tobin still believes the Bengals weren’t far off from having a championship roster. It’s on them to show it in 2026.
“We have emerging talent on defense,” Tobin said. “I don’t think we’re there. I think we have guys that can grow into being there. On offense, I’d put our talent up against any team in the league. It’s better than most. We’ve got to stay healthy, produce and not score nine times for our opponent. I’d put it up against any team in the league. We feel like we’re a championship caliber team. We’re 6-11. I’m 6-11. ‘How could you feel that way, you’re an idiot.’ That’s the way I feel.”
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