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Old friends reunite Bengals' Lewis meets Edwards, Jets in first gamePosted: Saturday August 09, 2003 3:37 PMEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- When Marvin Lewis takes the field for the first time as an NFL head coach, Herman Edwards will be there to greet him. "It is going to be fun," Lewis said. "Obviously, Herman is a man I have a lot of respect for. He's been a very good friend of mine and a mentor, so I'm excited." Lewis and Edwards are two of the league's three active black head coaches, and they face each other Sunday in an exhibition game between the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets. The two met while Lewis was still an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh in the early 1990s and developed a strong friendship. Edwards knows exactly what Lewis will be going through Sunday. The third-year coach still remembers his first exhibition game, a 20-10 loss to Atlanta in 2001. He also remembers being an assistant under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, when Dungy faced another black coach for the first time in 1996 -- good friend Dennis Green of Minnesota. "That was a significant mark in football for me to watch those two guys," Edwards said. "For Marvin it's a long time coming. When you meet a guy like that, another African-American coach, there's not that many. You remember those. "It doesn't hit you now but 25 years from now, when you look back on the history of professional football, it will be a historical moment for us and for me." Edwards also was part of another significant moment last season, when the Jets played Indianapolis and Dungy in the playoffs. It was the first time two black head coaches met in a postseason game. Now he is looking forward to seeing how Lewis reshapes the Bengals, who have not had a winning season since 1990. Lewis won a Super Bowl ring as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore. "He's a guy who's been a great coach," Edwards said. "He's waited his chance, and he's done it in a classy way. There's been times he was kicked to the side but he kept his composure and knew he would get his chance one day." The Jets opened their preseason last week with a 30-14 loss to Tampa Bay in Japan. This will be the first game for Cincinnati and quarterback Carson Palmer, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The Heisman Trophy winner is not expected to start immediately in Cincinnati, but he is the future of the franchise. Jon Kitna will start against the Jets, followed by Shane Matthews and then Palmer. "I'm fired up," Palmer said. "I'm looking forward to having a chance to make some plays, run around and play against a different team and a different defense." Jets quarterback Chad Pennington knows what it means to sit on the bench as a first-round pick. He did that when he was drafted in 2000 until he became the starter last season. Pennington is impressed with Palmer and thinks the rookie can become a standout quarterback. "I'm sure right now his mind is spinning 100 miles an hour," Pennington said. "The Bengals drafted him for a reason, and that's to be their quarterback of the future. As long as he stays patient, he'll be fine. He has all the physical tools. "He has to concentrate on getting better every day. You have to take baby steps. You can't skip steps or else you aren't going to reach your goal." The same could probably be said of Lewis, who realizes his opening game is important because two black coaches will be on the sidelines. "Yes, I think that's a big thing, but it ends there," Lewis said. "We're both coaches at that point, and we have to coach football." |
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