1980

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.

801207-Bengals-AP_8012070200-Jeff Hinckley-NEW

League Rankings

Table inside Article
TOTALRUSHPASS
OFFENSE19 (305.3)12 (129.3)21 (175.9)
DEFENSE9 (300.3)4 (105.0)13 (195.3)

Year Totals

Table inside Article
PLAYSFIRST DOWNSNET YDS RUSHNET YDS PASSTOTAL NET YDSPTS
OFFENSE1060283206928154884244
DEFENSE995286168031244804312

Individual Leaders

Table inside Article
PLAYERCATEGORY
Ian SunterScoring
Ken AndersonPassing
Pete JohnsonRushing
Dan RossReceptions
Dan RossReceiving Yards
Pat McInallyPunting
Cleotha MontgomeryPunt Returns
Cleotha MontgomeryKickoff Returns
Ian SunterField Goals
Louis BreedenInterceptions
Eddie EdwardsSacks

Coaching Staff

Table inside Article
COACHPOSITION
Forrest GreggHead Coach
Hank BulloughDefensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Frank GanszSpecial Teams/Tight Ends
Lindy InfanteReceivers/Quarterbacks
Dick LeBeauDefensive Backfield
Jim McNallyOffensive Line
Dick ModzelewskiDefensive Line
George SefcikOffensive Backfield
Kim WoodStrength

1980 NFL Draft: April 29-30

Table inside Article
ROUNDPLAYERPOSITIONCOLLEGESELECTION NUMBER
1Anthony MunozTSouthern California3
2Kirby CriswellLBKansas31
3Rod HornDLNebraska59
4Bill GlassGBaylor86
5Bryan HicksSMcNeese State113
6aJo Jo HeathKR/DBPittsburgh141
6bAndrew Melontree (acquired from Tampa Bay in trade on 5-30-79)LBBaylor159
7aRon Simpkins (acquired from San Francisco in trade on 7-16-79)LBMichigan167
7bGary Don JohnsonDTBaylor168
8Mark LylesRBFlorida State196
9Greg BrightSMorehead State224
10Sandro VitielloKMassachusetts252
11Alton AlexisWRTulane*281
12Mike WrightQBVanderbilt308

*NOTE: The Bengals had the No. 280 overall choice in Round 11 but passed, allowing Baltimore to move from No. 281 to 280.

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