It’s always been assumed that Marvin Lewis significantly improved things.
Free agents began viewing Cincinnati as a possible destination, not a graveyard. The draft resulted in better players, workout rooms were improved and rebuilt and the cafeteria was redesigned to provide better nutrition. Cincinnati was starting to be projected as a postseason participant during most seasons.
Despite the antagonism and denigration that Lewis has received in recent years — most of it being justified, and even if he didn’t have a direct hand at improving every aspect of this organization, he will be remembered as the driving force that lifted a doomed culture.