Summary
Forrest Gregg managed only a 6-10 record in his first season as head coach, but he was laying the groundwork for a trip to the Super Bowl the following year. The first building block in that plan was the drafting of Southern California OT Anthony Munoz with the No. 3 overall selection. Munoz, who 18 years later would be a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame inductee, having played his entire career with Cincinnati, was enthusiastically endorsed by Gregg as Cincinnati's top choice. Gregg's deciding moment came when he was accidently knocked to the ground by an errant Munoz forearm while working Munoz out in a supposedly "light-contact" drill on a scouting trip. Gregg himself was a Hall of Fame OT, inducted in 1977. After drafting Munoz, the Bengals endured a high-profile and acrimonious contract negotiation with Munoz agent Mike Trope. But Munoz was signed just before training camp, hyped as "the NFL's first million-dollar offensive tackle," and he started all season at LOT. Gregg instituted notably tougher discipline policies on Bengals players and became the first Cincinnati head coach to insist players wear sport coats and ties on road trips. But on the field, QB Ken Anderson was injury-plagued and wound up splitting time with Jack Thompson on an offense whose 244 total points ranked last in the AFC. Gregg notched two of his wins against defending league champion Pittsburgh, but his club lost twice to eventual AFC Central champ Cleveland, which had fired him as head coach after the 1977 campaign.
League Rankings
| TOTAL | RUSH | PASS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | 19 (305.3) | 12 (129.3) | 21 (175.9) |
| DEFENSE | 9 (300.3) | 4 (105.0) | 13 (195.3) |
Year Totals
| PLAYS | FIRST DOWNS | NET YDS RUSH | NET YDS PASS | TOTAL NET YDS | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | 1060 | 283 | 2069 | 2815 | 4884 | 244 |
| DEFENSE | 995 | 286 | 1680 | 3124 | 4804 | 312 |
Individual Leaders
| PLAYER | CATEGORY |
|---|---|
| Ian Sunter | Scoring |
| Ken Anderson | Passing |
| Pete Johnson | Rushing |
| Dan Ross | Receptions |
| Dan Ross | Receiving Yards |
| Pat McInally | Punting |
| Cleotha Montgomery | Punt Returns |
| Cleotha Montgomery | Kickoff Returns |
| Ian Sunter | Field Goals |
| Louis Breeden | Interceptions |
| Eddie Edwards | Sacks |
Coaching Staff
| COACH | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Forrest Gregg | Head Coach |
| Hank Bullough | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| Frank Gansz | Special Teams/Tight Ends |
| Lindy Infante | Receivers/Quarterbacks |
| Dick LeBeau | Defensive Backfield |
| Jim McNally | Offensive Line |
| Dick Modzelewski | Defensive Line |
| George Sefcik | Offensive Backfield |
| Kim Wood | Strength |
1980 NFL Draft: April 29-30
| ROUND | PLAYER | POSITION | COLLEGE | SELECTION NUMBER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Munoz | T | Southern California | 3 |
| 2 | Kirby Criswell | LB | Kansas | 31 |
| 3 | Rod Horn | DL | Nebraska | 59 |
| 4 | Bill Glass | G | Baylor | 86 |
| 5 | Bryan Hicks | S | McNeese State | 113 |
| 6a | Jo Jo Heath | KR/DB | Pittsburgh | 141 |
| 6b | Andrew Melontree (acquired from Tampa Bay in trade on 5-30-79) | LB | Baylor | 159 |
| 7a | Ron Simpkins (acquired from San Francisco in trade on 7-16-79) | LB | Michigan | 167 |
| 7b | Gary Don Johnson | DT | Baylor | 168 |
| 8 | Mark Lyles | RB | Florida State | 196 |
| 9 | Greg Bright | S | Morehead State | 224 |
| 10 | Sandro Vitiello | K | Massachusetts | 252 |
| 11 | Alton Alexis | WR | Tulane | *281 |
| 12 | Mike Wright | QB | Vanderbilt | 308 |
*NOTE: The Bengals had the No. 280 overall choice in Round 11 but passed, allowing Baltimore to move from No. 281 to 280.
