Last year Bengals coach Marvin Lewis criticized the Buccaneers over their decision to pay a practice squad player far more money than practice squad players typically make in order to get him to leave Cincinnati for Tampa Bay. But while that incident suggested that Lewis doesn’t like the way Bucs coach Raheem Morris does business, Morris has made clear that he likes and respects Lewis.
Morris attended the Marvin Lewis Golf Classic and told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the exchange of words over the practice squad had nothing to do with how he feels about Lewis.
“That’s business, this is about the community and the bigger picture,” Morris said. “It’s not about whether you have a disagreement on the field or whether I like him on game day. I wanted to come in for Marvin and be supportive of him because he’s always been supportive of me.”
Morris said Lewis has been a role model and an inspiration to him.
“When you talk about guys that paved the way not only for coaches but young African-American coaches he’s been a consummate leader,” Morris said. “To be here as long as he’s been here and be a leader in the league as far as rules committee, that’s one of those guys that you want to follow after.”
Lewis was wrong to criticize the Bucs, but it’s generous of Morris not to hold that against him.
