http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...70336/1062/SPT
Mike Zimmer wasn't the only topic of conversation Wednesday at Paul Brown Stadium. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis also made it clear that the team is not going to trade wide receiver Chad Johnson.
Johnson, in a national radio interview Friday, said he felt unappreciated and that no member of the Bengals organization defended him when trade rumors swirled, and he hinted he would welcome a trade if he indeed were a problem.
"He didn't say anything different - that he was unduly chastised for being this or that," Lewis said Wednesday. "He's going to go back and be a pro and go forward and play. As I said then, there will be no trade of Chad Johnson. Repeat it again."
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Asked if he were concerned about Johnson's attitude, Lewis said, "I can't control that. That doesn't mean anything to me right now. He's a special player and he's a Cincinnati Bengal for quite a while."
Lewis was asked if there would be more changes on his coaching staff besides Zimmer's hire as defensive coordinator and a replacement for the fired Ricky Hunley as linebackers coach.
"Possibly," Lewis said.
Then he brought up comments made Dec. 31 by quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer said changes needed to be made on the staff to elevate the Bengals as a team.
"As I said at the end of the year and our quarterback indicated to (the media), we weren't satisfied," Lewis said. "He and I talked the Friday before the Miami game, and we're not satisfied. He and I together will do everything we can to fix it, along with everybody else in this building.
"He let it go. That's the way it is. That guy, he plays. As I told him, when we got started with him, you put yourself back in position where you play football the way you can play, you're going to win a lot of football games, don't lose the game. We got away from it. He felt like he had so much on his shoulders that he didn't (play perfectly), we'd lose the game, and you paint yourself into the corner."