Courtney McLemore named new Bengals head coach

Former star QB hopes to get team back in the Sundby Cup
By "Who Dey"

Off-Season 2189 (Cincinnati) - After a successful coaching stint back at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, former Bengals legendary quarterback Courtney McLemore is returning to the team as their new head coach.

McLemore, known during his playing days as outspoken and better yet, able to back up his boasting, is no less outspoken as a football coach.

'I'm here to win Sundbys,' McLemore said at his first press conference. 'Lots of 'em. Boss said I did the job on the field here, now it's time to do it on the sidelines.'

McLemore passed for 33,021 yards and 233 TDs as a Bengal after their move from Carolina, making him easily the team's all time leader in passing despite him beginning his career throwing for an additional 10,000 yards starting for three years as a Carolina Panther quarterback.

His leadership skills as a player made him a perfect candidate for a coaching career back at his alma mater, USC, where he eventually worked his way up the assistant ranks to become a successful college head coach, much like he did as a player, when the lower round draft pick beat out the first round pick to become the starter in Carolina.

The Bengals hope he brings that kind of tenacity to coaching their team to a championship.

'Close is no longer good enough,' Bengals GM 'Trader' Lee Remley said at the press conference announcing the move. 'We're looking for more.'

McLemore has won several PAC-24 and even a few national championships at USC during the past several years. His kind of hands-on, loud, up-and-down-the-sideline approach is the kind of approach the Bengals were looking for on their own sidelines going forward.

Former Bengals QB Scott Lewis will return to the team as the new offensive coordinator. Another former Bengals great in retired linebacker Sam Banks will serve as the defensive coordinator.

'Having two fine individuals from our recent past as our coordinators will ensure our game plans on both sides of the ball reflect today's game,' Remley said.

If nothing else, things will be livelier on the Bengals sidelines this season.

In other news, rumors also persist that Assistant GM Lee Patterson, who has become an important part of the team's front office the past couple of seasons, has been pursued by other USAFL teams. His boss remains tight lipped about it to the media, despite his assistant being notably missing during the press conference announcing the new coach.

'We have no other announcements to make,' Remley said.

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