Summary
On Jan. 1, Paul Brown announced his retirement as head coach, while remaining general manager and overall chief executive. Brown had coached 41 seasons at various levels of football, with a career including dominance at the high school level, a national championship at Ohio State, and an AAFC and NFL dynasty with the Cleveland Browns. Brown also led the expansion Bengals into the playoffs in their third season (1970), making them the "youngest franchise" in league history at that time to reach postseason. His overall coaching record was 342-126-15, for a winning percentage of .724. Brown named Bill "Tiger" Johnson, Bengals offensive line coach since the franchise's inception, as his successor as head coach. Johnson led the team to a 10-4 record, tied with Pittsburgh atop the AFC Central, but the Steelers won a tiebreaker (head-to-head sweep) for the division title, and the Bengals lost out to 11-3 New England for what was then a lone AFC Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Bengals' .714 winning percentage is the highest (through 2017) of any Cincinnati team not to make the playoffs. The Bengals entered the final regular-season weekend tied with Pittsburgh at 9-4, but the Steelers clinched the playoff spot with a Saturday win against Houston. The Bengals were playing only for pride the following day when they swamped the N.Y. Jets 42-3 in what was to be the last Jets appearance by Hall of Fame QB Joe Namath. The Bengals acquired defensive end Coy Bacon in a March 31 trade with San Diego for WR Charlie Joiner, and Bacon contributed 22.0 sacks, still the Bengals record through 2017, and by a margin of 9.0. The team had 46 sacks, and its average of 3.29 per game is still the franchise record though 2016. Also still a record through '17 is the club's average yield of only 15.0 points per game. CB Ken Riley led the AFC with nine INTs. In the first round of the draft, Cincinnati selected HB Archie Griffin, the two-time Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, and Griffin went on to play for the Bengals through 1983.
League Rankings
| TOTAL | RUSH | PASS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | 15 (307.1) | 15 (150.6) | 13 (156.5) |
| DEFENSE | 5 (262.1) | 11 (136.6) | 3 (125.6) |
Year Totals
| PLAYS | FIRST DOWNS | NET YDS RUSH | NET YDS PASS | TOTAL NET YDS | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | 878 | 238 | 2109 | 2191 | 4300 | 335 |
| DEFENSE | 930 | 234 | 1912 | 1758 | 3670 | 210 |
Individual Leaders
| PLAYER | CATEGORY |
|---|---|
| Chris Bahr | Scoring |
| Ken Anderson | Passing |
| Boobie Clark | Rushing |
| Isaac Curtis | Receptions |
| Isaac Curtis | Receiving Yards |
| Pat McInally | Punting |
| Willie Shelby | Punt Return |
| Willie Shelby | Kickoff Returns |
| Chris Bahr | Field Goals |
| Ken Riley | Interceptions |
| Coy Bacon | Sacks |
Coaching Staff
| COACH | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Bill Johnson | Head Coach |
| Howard Brinker | Defensive Coordinator |
| Jack Donaldson | Offensive Backfield |
| Boyd Dowler | Quarterbacks/Receivers |
| Mike McCormack | Offensive Line |
| Chuck Studley | Defensive Line |
| Charley Winner | Defensive Backfield |
| Kim Wood | Strength |
1976 NFL Draft: April 8-9
| ROUND | PLAYER | POSITION | COLLEGE | SELECTION NUMBER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | Billy Brooks (acquired from Philadelphia in trade on 3-8-74) | WR | Oklahoma | 11 |
| 1b | Archie Griffin | RB | Ohio State | 24 |
| 2a | Glenn Bujnoch (acquired from Philadelphia in trade on 6-29-75) | G | Texas A&M | 38 |
| 2b | Chris Bahr | PK | Penn State | 51 |
| 3a | Danny Reece (acquired from Philadelphia in trade on 6-16-75) | DB | Southern California | 69 |
| 3b | Reggie Williams | LB | Dartmouth | 82 |
| 4a | Tony Davis (acquired from Kansas City in trade on 4-18-75) | RB | Nebraska | 106 |
| 4b | Greg Fairchild | T/G | Tulsa | 116 |
| 5a | Willie Shelby (acquired from San Francisco in trade on 6-11-75) | DB/WR | Alabama | 138 |
| 5b | Scott Perry | DB | Williams | 147 |
| 6 | Orlando Nelson | TE | Utah State | 176 |
| 7a | Bob Bateman (acquired from New England in trade on 9-8-75) | QB | Brown | 187 |
| 7b | Pete Rome (acquired from Green Bay in trade on 9-9-75) | DB | Miami (Ohio) | 192 |
| 8 | Ron Hunt | T | Oregon | 232 |
| 9 | Lonnie Allgood | WR | Syracuse | 259 |
| 10 | Tom Klaban | K | Ohio State | 287 |
| 11 | Melvin Morgan | DB | Mississippi Valley State | 314 |
| 12 | Joe Dale Harris | WR | Alabama | 340 |
| 13 | Randy Walker | RB | Miami (Ohio) | 371 |
| 14 | Greg Coleman | P/PK | Florida A&M | 398 |
| 15 | Lynn Hieber | QB | Indiana (Pa.) | 425 |
| 16 | George Demopoulos | C | Miami (Fla.) | 455 |
| 17 | Scott Dannelley | T/G | Ohio State | 482 |
Pro Bowl
Players selected for the 1976 NFL Pro Bowl: QB Ken Anderson, DE Coy Bacon, S Tommy Casanova, WR Isaac Curtis, LB Jim LeClair, CB Lemar Parrish