When new Bengals Ring of Honor member Lemar Parrish met the media via Zoom Wednesday, Bengals.com asked if there was anyone playing today he enjoyed watching and had a bit of the same dynamic playmaking he brought to the table.
How dynamic? Only Deion Sanders (18) and Rod Woodson (14) scored more non-offensive touchdowns during the 20th century than Parrish and his 13. Those came on pick-sixes, punt returns, kick returns, fumble returns, and a blocked field goal.
Parrish didn't have to look far. He anointed Bengals All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase off his triple crown season he led the NFL in catches, touchdown catches, and receiving yards.
"I like Chase. Chase is a great wide receiver. He's the gamebreaker," Parrish said. "Every time he touches the ball, he thinks he can score. He kind of reminds me of myself. I thought I was supposed to score every time I touched the ball. Chase does a great job of that. Put it in his hands and he outruns people. Makes them miss. There are guys I like. I would say Chase is probably the guy I most admire."
PB BOND
Parrish and fellow Ring of Honor inductee Dave Lapham have a common bond. They are savoring their reunion with franchise founder Paul Brown when their names join his on the Paycor Stadium wall.
They played on opposite sides of the ball on Brown's last two teams, the Bengals of 1974 and 1975. In both years, Ken Anderson, the quarterback Lapham protected, led the NFL in passing. Parrish, who calls Brown one of the greatest coaches who ever lived, led those secondaries that finished in the top four of the league's defensive passing stats in those two seasons.
Parrish, a head coach for five seasons at his alma mater of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., had no problems finding a blueprint.
"I sure did. I modeled my practices similar to Paul," Parrish says. "I learned a lot from Paul. Yes, short practices. We didn't walk anywhere. We were snapping from one thing to another … Concentrating on situations, game planning, and time structure. We prepared for situations.
"Two things about Paul Brown teams. We weren't going to beat ourselves, and we were going to be in shape."
The blueprint still survives. When Parrish became the Lincoln head coach after Paul's 1991 death, he said Bengals president Mike Brown sent his team any kind of equipment that he requested.
During his 40 years as the Bengals radio analyst, Lapham frequently has given fans an inside look at how demanding it was to play for Brown. He still remembers his rookie year when Brown confronted him the day after Cleveland defensive tackle Walter Johnson lifted him in the air on an extra point.
"Young man, you look like a CAT that got run over by a TRUCK," Lapham recalls Brown hissing. "That's not good enough. If this continues, I'll collect your helmet, shoulder pads, shoes and get someone to drive you to the airport. We can't have that."
But Lapham cherished every time Brown pulled him aside or spoke to the team. He not only learned about football, but also life. PB dropped pearls of wisdom at all moments.
"And he said it in so few words," Lapham says.
The feeling was mutual. Brown gave him "the ultimate compliment," when he told Lapham he'd make a good coach and asked him to think about getting into the profession.
"That guy, he just understood football. If there was ever a person that was born to perform in an occupation, Paul Brown was born to coach football," Lapham says. "He just he had all the traits, attributes, characteristics necessary to be a phenomenal, and successful football coach. And that dude was a winner, man. He just got it. He just understood everything it took to win football games and how to put together a football team."
ALL DEFENSE
Although the 5-11, 185-pound Parrish scored 15 touchdowns as a running back in his final year at Lincoln, the Bengals never sprinkled him into the offense. And Parish was fine with that.
"I'm glad I became a defensive back because with my size, running into the line, I wouldn't have lasted long," Parrish says.
"They did talk about (putting him on offense). But Paul needed a defensive back. Paul told them, 'I'm going to use him on defense.' I never got the chance to play offense."
MENTORING UP FRONT
When Lapham arrived in Cincinnati as a third-round pick in 1974, it was easy to pick out who to follow as a role model. Center Bob Johnson, the Bengals' first-ever draft pick, was in his seventh season as the leader of the offensive line. Just in case Lap couldn't figure it out, Paul Brown and offensive line coach Tiger Johnson reminded him:
"It'd be wise for you, young man, to keep your eye on Bob Johnson. See how Bob Johnson does things. Bob Johnson is a pro's pro. It would not hurt if you want to emulate what Bob Johnson's doing."
Lapham could see it for himself.
"I felt like Bob Johnson was a guy who was a perfect example of what you wanted to be like. To be not only a successful football player, but a successful person," Lapham says. "He had everything. He was as smart as a whip. An honor student at Tennessee. All-American football player. He took over a business, made it his own, built it, sold it, made a fortune. I mean, Bob just understood life."
CANTON BROTHERS
As Lapham joins roommate Kenny Anderson in the Ring of Honor, Parrish joins a group that already includes his roommate and tight friend Kenny Riley.
Parrish, in fact, talked to Riley a few days before his sudden death at age 72 five years ago. Both are Florida natives. Both are products of Historically Black Colleges who returned to coach at their alma maters. Both became All-Pro cornerbacks despite never playing the position until they got to the Bengals.
"Riley and I were very close," Parrish said. "Roommates for eight years. Never had a confrontation.
"We shared ideas. We shared our hope for the future, and we talked about family, business, the Hall of Fame. We always thought both of us should go in together."
On Wednesday, Parrish saluted Riley's son, Ken Riley II, and his mother, Barbara, Riley's wife. Kenny Riley made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023, an astonishing 40 years after he retired with the fourth most interceptions of all-time.
Just as astonishingly, Parrish, who retired a year before Riley, still waits on Canton despite being the only cornerback with at least eight Pro Bowl berths not in the Hall.
"Riley No. 2 a great young man. Shoot, they've followed me," Parrish said. "They've pushed me, they've encouraged me. Just to have patience, Lemar. It's coming.
"He beat me in there," Parrish said, "but I'm happy for him. He was a great cornerback. Great cornerback … He was a technician. My style was in your face. I wanted to challenge every move that you gave me."
LAP AND THE MUSIC MAN
Lapham says one of the big reasons for his development is that he had to face All-Pro defensive tackle Mike Reid every day in his rookie training camp. Lap says Reid could be the best player he's ever faced.
But it was only for that '74 camp. Reid retired at age 28 before the next camp to devote himself to what became a musical career dotted with Grammy awards.
That one camp was enough. Lapham can still imitate Tiger Johnson whispering sweat dread to him in his Texas drawl:
"Dave Lapham, you're going to get going against Mike Reid. He's the quickest guy that I've ever seen in my life. I'm telling you, he's quicker than a hiccup. You're going to think, son of a (bleep), did I close my eyes? I know I didn't close my eyes. How did he get from there to there so quickly?"
It turned out that Johnson wasn't exaggerating, and Lapham knew he had to learn NFL pass blocking quickly in order not to look bad daily.
"He was right. Man. Mike Reid was like a blur. That son of a gun was quicker than a cat," Lapham says. "He might have been as good a player as I played against."
Lapham held his own. He knew because after a really good rep against Reid, Paul Brown told him so.
"Young man, that was well done. You acquitted yourself quite well there. He's a hell of a player," Brown told Lapham. "That guy can rush the passer young man. Great job."
"When he praised you, you felt like a million bucks," Lapham says.
LAP ON LEAPIN'
Lapham shows why he's an all-world analyst as he breaks down his Ringmate:
"I think Lemar was as gifted of an athlete as I've ever seen. The guy had unbelievable ball skills. I mean, his eye-hand coordination was ridiculous. It was incredible. He had good size. He had really long arms. Look at the length. I mean, people think they had him beat, had an edge on him. And he's like Spider Man. Inspector Gadget. He just reaches out and his arms seemed to be extended and growing as the ball was in the air and he'd make plays on it.
"He had real good instincts, route recognition. He could really run. He could change direction. Some guys have that straight track speed, straight line speed, but they can't sink their hips and plant a foot and get in and out of cuts and get low and don't lose a lot of speed and momentum. He was smooth, man, that dude had a change of direction. I think that was his biggest attribute. He was fast, he could run, but his ability to change direction at full speed and not lose much of it was his main attribute … He made a lot of big plays for us. Game-changing plays. He'd pick it and score. As a punt returner, kickoff returner, the dude was unbelievable. You'd say, 'He's done, he's cooked.' Nope. He'd dipsy do 'em, change direction on them, and they fly out into space and he's running the other direction."
