Bengals Might Fire Shula Before the End of the Season

Mike Brown, the Cincinnati Bengals’ general manager, might be changing his timetable for deciding whether to fire Coach Dave Shula.

Last week, Brown maintained he will wait until the season is over to decide Shula’s fate. The Bengals are 19-51 under Shula, who is in the fifth and final year of his contract.

But in an interview with the Dayton Daily News and The Cincinnati Post, Brown hinted the reckoning might come earlier. “We’re going to have to evaluate our situation as we go along,” he said.

The Bengals opened the season with playoff aspirations, but have gone 1-5. They gave up 10 sacks Sunday in a 20-10 loss in Pittsburgh.

The Bengals have changed coaches only once in the middle of a season. Bill Johnson was replaced by Homer Rice after losing the first five games of the 1978 season.

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Keith Byars has signed with the New England Patriots, two weeks after being released by the Miami Dolphins and a month after his streak of 130 games with at least one reception ended.