The Bengals Ring of Honor may have only been started in 2021, but Corey Dillon thinks he's due.
Dillon, who played for the Bengals from 1997 to 2003, went on a tirade bordering on tantrum about not being included in the Ring of Honor, including a Russell Hantz-esque rant about how the voting system is broken.
“It’s damn-near criminal, what they are pulling off, to be honest with you,” Dillon told Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Did I not play for them? I don’t know, bro. I’m curious about that. Because it looks like they are glossing over me. For what reason? Because I left? That’s not a good enough reason.
"You are telling me there’s five other guys better than me — at my position? And trust me, this is no knock on whoever is getting in, who goes in, that’s not what it is about. It’s about what is your excuse going to be? I’m pretty sure they will put f— Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, Scott Mitchell will end up in that motherf— before I do.”
Dillon had the stats to back it up. He had 1,865 carries for 8,061 yards and 45 touchdowns with Cincinnati. The Bengals, however, never made the playoffs, thanks in large part to a supporting cast that was lacking (and that's being kind).
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His departure from the Bengals was what may be rubbing fans the wrong way. Bengals season ticket holders vote players into the Ring of Honor, something Dillon derided.
“That’s garbage," Dillon said. "This should be solely predicated on the authorities of the Bengals. The owner. The president. Whatever. There should be a special committee. This ain’t a popularity contest. This is football. You are going to put in somebody who is more popular than somebody who got stats?”
This type of bridge-burning is nothing new for Dillon, who did it way back in 2000.
"I'll be flipping burgers or something. I'll sit," he said in 2000 as restricted free agent, per CBS News. "They can take their $1.3 million and they know what they can do with it. I'll play for 50 bucks somewhere else."
When Dillon was traded to the Patriots in 2004, there was clearly no love lost with the Bengals front office.
"I set a couple of records in Cincinnati, so I'm always going to have love for Cincinnati and that fan base,'' he said at the time, per ESPN. "But today is a new day. I'm just going to finish what I started in Cincinnati in New England. It's the first time I've been this excited about a season since I've been in college."
Dillon also downplayed the idea his off-the-field record, including a charge for fourth-degree assault of his wife in 2000, should impact his status as a Hall of Famer.
“That’s why I resurfaced, man,” he told Dehner. “Because there has been a lot of wrong that needs to be un-wronged. Nobody gets this. I don’t want to get into people’s personal business, but there are a lot of Hall of Famers that did far more worse s— than I did. We can cancel out that excuse. There is no excuse for that. On top of that, I thought the game was predicated on numbers. Are people looking at the numbers like, ‘Nah, nah?' I don’t think so.”
Who is in the Bengals Ring of Honor?
Does Dillon have a gripe here? It's hard to say when the Bengals have been enshrining players for fewer than three years.
The Ring of Honor in Cincinnati is already tight and full of no-brainers. Here's a look at who is in:
- Ken Anderson, QB
- Willie Anderson, OT
- Paul Brown, Coach
- Isaac Curtis, WR
- Anthony Muñoz, OT
- Ken Riley, CB
Bengals 2023 Ring of Honor nominees
The Bengals' class this year is full of other franchise favorites, but only the top-two vote getters will get in and join the previous six.
Here is the list of nominees:
- Jim Breech
- James Brooks
- Cris Collinsworth
- Corey Dillon
- Boomer Esiason
- David Fulcher
- Chad Johnson
- Tim Krumrie
- Dave Lapham
- Max Montoya
- Lemar Parrish
- Bob Trumpy
- Reggie Williams
Esiason and Johnson are easy picks to get in, but Dillon has an issue with the latter.
"Let me break this down to you," Dillon said. "Was Willie Anderson double-teamed all f—ing day? Was Chad Johnson double-teamed all f—ing day? I don’t think so. Was the defense altering their defense to stop that guy only?"
Dillon also said the Patriots — a team that inducts a player per year, has six championships, and he only spent three years with — also owe him a spot.
“Don’t make this a Cincinnati thing, because I’m about to get on the Pats’ ass, too,” he said, per Dehner. “It’s coming. I’m coming for it all. Give it to me while I’m breathing. If anybody wants to disagree, just go look at the f—ing numbers and have a Coke and a smile.”
It is unlikely this rant is going to earn Dillon any votes. But it does make for a great induction into the scorched earth Hall of Fame.