Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin is considered a rising star in personnel circles, and in January Tobin reportedly turned down opportunities to talk with at least two teams about jobs that would have given him control of the roster.
Tobin is the highest ranking member of the Bengals’ personnel department who isn’t part of the Brown family that owns the team, and he said in a recent radio interview that he’s plenty happy working for the Bengals.
“When I came here in 1999...I fully committed to the Bengals and wanted to be here long term,” he said. “I wanted to make myself valuable to the club and make an entire career out of this and they gave me an opportunity to show that. There are very few organizations like the Cincinnati Bengals and people like the Browns and Blackburns to work for.
“It’s just a really neat situation and I’m thankful for the opportunity that I have here. I really can’t imagine wanting to be somewhere else and wanting to work for another team. Sure the challenges would be fun, but we have challenges here to work through that keep me occupied. I’m very happy to stay and be a part of it.”
Tobin talked with the voice of the Bengals, Dan Hoard, and the transcript was posted on the team’s official website.
The Bengals have been in the playoffs five straight seasons and have done it with homegrown talent leading the way; A.J. Green, Andy Dalton, Tyler Eifert, Vontaze Burfict, Carlos Dunlap and Giovani Bernard are among the Bengals who have joined the team in recent years and become key players, if not Pro Bowlers.
Tobin works closely with head coach Marvin Lewis on personnel matters, and there’s no indication that will change anytime soon. Tobin’s father, Bill, was once the top personnel man for both the Bears and the Colts.
“I’m certainly a product of my father, so the way he thinks is largely the way that I think,” he said. “And when we look at players I think that we look at them in similar ways. We like production, we like guys that know how to be part of a team, we like guys that make the most out of their abilities, we like tough, physical players, and we like players that come up big in crucial situations.”
