Does Bengals front office share its players' urgency?

CINCINNATI -- The moment Duke Tobin sat down with a legal pad, the intention of Friday's news conference was made immediately clear.

The message has been received. After a third straight season with unmet expectations, the Cincinnati Bengals de facto general manager acknowledged the frustration from the fan base that has swelled following a six-win season.

Tobin's first-ever local news conference at the end of the season was aimed at addressing the fans' desire for him and the front office to show some accountability for another year without a playoff appearance.

But the big questions still went unanswered. And there perhaps is a difference of opinion between Tobin and his team's star players on what needs to happen moving forward.

Because with Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase expressing the need for significant change this offseason, Tobin publicly expressed a more muted opinion when asked what needs to change most.

"Our record," Tobin said in a news conference that lasted just over an hour. "We need to win games that we should win, instead of finding ways to lose games that we should win. But we change every offseason."

Tobin said the franchise is "always open to changes" with processes and is a "pretty flexible organization." But even those comments reflected how most of the hourlong interview session went.

For the most part, Tobin spoke in generalities at a time when the Bengals need specific answers. It fit the way Tobin has approached news conferences in recent years, as he has consistently stated his desire to create as little news as possible in his limited interactions with reporters.

Typically, Cincinnati's longtime director of player personnel will make public comments in three settings -- at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, in January; ahead of the NFL draft in April; and the team's annual media luncheon in July, before training camp begins.

But it has been a much different offseason for Cincinnati. Team president Mike Brown included Tobin with coach Zac Taylor when issuing a vote of confidence in both men and announcing they will return for another season. Brown doesn't usually reference Tobin's job security in those terms.

Tobin did acknowledge the need for personnel improvement in roster construction. However, his biggest criticism was fixated on players' performance and aspects pertaining to coaching.

"We have to get to that point where that focus, strain and finish is in our DNA," Tobin said. "Our players have to understand that."

Tobin eventually threw his support behind Taylor, specifically with the integration of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, whom Tobin acquired via trade midseason after Burrow went down with a turf toe injury that sidelined him for nine games. The trade worked out better than anyone anticipated. Flacco and Burrow each finished the season with the same expected points added per dropback for the Bengals (0.11), according to ESPN Research.

But the season revealed that for yet another year, the Bengals aren't good enough to either withstand an injury to Burrow or support him and Chase with adequate talent.

That was something Burrow referenced at the end of the season.

"Something has got to change, whether it's players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship-caliber football, or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be," Burrow said on Dec. 31.

Interestingly enough, team president Mike Brown, who turned 90 this year, echoed that exact phrase in a statement that confirmed Taylor and Tobin will return for 2026.

"We are taking a hard look at everything we do as we approach this offseason with focused determination to build a championship-caliber roster that wins consistently," Brown said in a statement that was released on Monday.

But that feeling and sentiment didn't necessarily come across from Tobin last Friday. He did note that the team has done well in fielding quality rosters as recently as 2021 and 2022. But the Bengals will be four years removed from reaching the AFC Championship Game and five years removed from a loss in Super Bowl LVI.