Bengals fire offensive coordinator Ken Zampese

A solemn Marvin Lewis met with the media Friday at 1 p.m. at Paul Brown Stadium and preached better execution and preparation on offense, but did not immediately announce any changes to the staff or starting personnel as the team breaks for the weekend.

That changed soon after, when it was confirmed by The Enquirer the Bengals let go of their offensive coordinator who took over for Hue Jackson in 2016. The club made the change official at 2:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor will assume play-calling duties. He is the lone member of the offensive staff to have that experience, serving as the Miami Dolphins' offensive coordinator from 2014 and through most of 2015.

More: Who is new Bengals OC Bill Lazor?

Lewis did not meet with the media after the move, but the team released a statement on his behalf:

“Ken Zampese has done a tremendous job for us for my 15 years here, and I have the utmost respect for Ken as a person and as a coach. But I feel it best for the football team to breathe new life into the offense, and that’s why I am making the change. Bill Lazor has great experience in the league and as a coordinator, and I feel Bill can progress our offense the way we need. We have a lot of talent on offense, and we need to keep working to take full advantage of the personnel we have.”

In the 50-year history of the franchise, Zampese is the first coordinator to be dismissed in season. Previously, other coordinators had changed positions due to head coaching changes.

In 2004, Lewis took over defensive play-calling duties from coordinator Leslie Frazier but Frazier was not fired in-season.

Zampese had been with the Bengals for 15 seasons, coming in with Lewis in 2003 as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

Cited by Lewis as someone who could keep the momentum of 2015’s offensive pace going due to his familiarity with Andy Dalton and long tenure under three different coordinators, Zampese’s unit struggled mightily in 18 regular season games under his direction.

After 0-2 start, the Bengals scored a total of nine points and totaled 516 yards of total offense without a touchdown.

During his initial press conference on Friday, Lewis was asked if all things were on the table regarding staff or personnel changes, and he originally said, "We have to get better but I'm never going to come in here and tell you anything we're going to do with one another. What we do is private to us."

When asked if he's committed to Zampese, Lewis smiled.

"Again, I told you. I just answered. It's a nice try though."

Lewis was asked a followup "so no changes?"

"We're not going to discuss any of that in here."

Instead, Lewis preached his theme of better execution.

"It involves everybody, it involves all of us," Lewis said of the lack of execution on offense. "It's how we formulate our plan, how we execute our plan, how the plan is called all the way through. We've got to make sure we're doing the right things with our people and attacking the opponent as well."

It has been a rough 18 regular season games for the offense under Zampese, who was promoted to the position before last year after Hue Jackson took the head coaching job in Cleveland.

In 2016, the Bengals finished 13th in total offense (they were in the top 10 before season-ending injuries to A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard in late November) and 24th in scoring. The team struggled mightily in the red zone, scoring touchdowns 53.7 percent of the time, 18th in the league.

They are 0-for-6 in six red zone trips this year, coming away completely empty on half of those.

When asked what he's seen in Zampese that gives him hope the offense can turn the corner, Lewis offered that it hadn't been good enough.

"He's worked incredibly hard at this," Lewis said. "He has good command of the things we've done throughout. But we're not getting the results we need to get."

In 2015, the Bengals scored touchdowns at a 65 percent clip, which was No. 6 in the NFL. In 2014, the Bengals were 10th in the red zone in scoring (58 percent).

Oddly, those coordinators and head coaches who Zampese worked for prior to his promotion in 2016 felt that the red zone and planning for success within it was one of his greatest strengths as an offensive mind.

But the problems continued into 2017 for the Bengals, and the cracks first reappeared in the team’s opening preseason game.

The primetime loss Thursday night only stressed the fissure to the point of a total break.

The first team offense was on the field for nine possessions through the first three exhibition games but produced one touchdown and 13 points against two turnovers by Dalton (including one in the red zone) and three punts. One drive ended the half in Washington.

In those preseason games, the Bengals first team offense ran 68 plays and gained only 337 yards (4.95 yards per play). They were 1-for-3 in the red zone, with their lone touchdown coming in Washington.

Then against Baltimore in the opener, 58 plays were run for 221 yards (3.8 average) with no points and a 0-for-3 in the red zone.

Thursday night it was more of the same, as the Bengals ran 62 plays for 295 yards (4.8 average) and were 0-for-3 again in the red zone.

According to data generated by the Elias Sports Bureau and shared via ESPN, the Bengals became the first since the 1939 Philadelphia Eagles to open a year with two home games and not reach the end zone.

Last season was the Bengals worst scoring performance since 2008-10 when they finished 32nd, 22nd and 22nd in points scored and helped lead to the change in coordinators from Bob Bratkowski to Jay Gruden in 2011.

Currently, the Bengals are tied for 26th in the league in total scoring with nine points, but Indianapolis, Seattle (nine) and San Francisco and the New York Giants (three points each) have yet to play their second games.

One of the reasons for the offensive funk the club has been in to start this season is that Dalton has put together two of his worst performances in years. He was better on Thursday night than a disastrous five-turnover Week 1 game against Baltimore, but through two games Dalton has completed just 55 percent of his passes (36 of 66) for 394 yards. He is averaging only 5.96 yards per pass attempt.

It’s just two games, but he hasn’t completed less than 61 percent of his passes since his rookie year in 2011, and he has never averaged less than 6.6 yards per attempt.

Lewis insisted Thursday night that not only was Dalton’s job safe, but he didn’t feel the seventh-year quarterback had regressed. But through two games, the three-time Pro Bowler has looked unsteady.

So unsteady, in fact, the usual dynamic connection he and A.J. Green have developed over the last seven seasons has been severed.

Green has caught 10 passes on 18 targets for 141 yards in two games. On Thursday, he brought down a 50-yard completion in triple coverage for the Bengals’ biggest play, but in the fourth quarter, he was targeted just twice.

“Andy missing balls here and there, we can live with that,” Green said. “When it’s crunch time though, we have to get our playmakers the ball. It’s simple as that.”

Through two games, Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert has been targeted five times, catching four passes for 46 yards. He would have had a go-ahead touchdown on Thursday – the team’s first of the year –but stepped out of bounds before Dalton found him, nullifying the score.

The Bengals’ three-man running back rotation of Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon have combined to rush for 138 yards on 41 carries, a 3.4 average.

The protection unit has allowed eight sacks through two weeks. Per the Pro Football Focus' grading system, the only offensive lineman to be given a grade higher than average (70-79.9) the last two weeks were right guard T.J. Johnson in relief in Week 1 (71.3).



Per PFF, "well below average" is considered a grade of 0-60. Through two weeks, the Bengals' offensive line has been graded out as such:

Left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi: 41.9

Left guard Clint Boling: 43.1

Center Russell Bodine: 44.7

Right guards T.J. Johnson: 54.7, Trey Hopkins 32.4

Right tackle Jake Fisher: 31.8

The Bengals head to Green Bay on Sept. 24, giving Lazor a full weekend to get ready to lead the offensive practice next week.

Zampese is the one who brought Lazor on board to replace him in the quarterbacks room last season.

"A lot of us are frustrated with the lack of production we've had so far and I think one of the important things is we also share the burden of why it's been that way. I think if we all honestly look at what's happened, what hasn't happened, what we can do to fix it, then we'll work the fastest way better to get it better."