Welp, it's the middle of July and we're still a few weeks away from meaningful football. Time to see what former NFL star Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) is up to.
And then this when asked why he hasn't asked Bengals coach Marvin Lewis for the chance to come back and help out the Bengals:
Later, Johnson hinted he might indeed have some sort of budding role under Jackson in Cleveland.
Yeah.
All opinions aside, Johnson's request comes at an interesting time. On Monday, the day he tweeted about helping out old wide receivers coach Hue Jackson in his new gig, NFL Network re-ran the Hard Knocks season from 2009 which featured the Bengals. Johnson was obviously a star for many reasons, including the revelation that he ate McDonald's before every game. His sideline antics contrasted nicely with Lewis and then-defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's death stares.
On the field, he was a menace. It was easy to see the type of respect he garnered around the league, especially during a moment of foreshadowing when Johnson talked to Patriots coach Bill Belichick on the field before a preseason game.
We're not pumping Johnson for the job, but we are reminding people to watch that season of Hard Knocks to see how excellent of a route runner Johnson really was. Perhaps he turned some people off with the Ochocinco lifestyle, but there was no doubt that he was an insanely crisp route runner and one of the fastest game-speed receivers of the era.
UPDATE: A person familiar with the situation clarified Johnson's tweet for us: Hue Jackson, a good friend of Johnson's, has invited him to training camp to spend some time with the team's receiving corps. So we might be witnessing the birth off CoachoCinco (h/t @BovaConstrictor for the A-plus nickname idea) though not in an official capacity with the Browns.
