By Jordan Long
The Cincinnati Bengals are 5-9 after a 34-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. There was speculation that Head Coach Marvin Lewis would be moving on from the Bengals after the season. According to NBCsports.com, Lewis denied that saying, “No. It’s the same report you’ve been reporting on all season. There’s nothing changed since August. It’s just the speculation that people keep throwing out there.” Lewis is in the final year of his contract.
It is possible Lewis is coaching his last two games for Cincinnati. They are underachieving this year. This was a team at the start of the season who had the talent to make a run to the playoffs. It hasn’t happened. They stand at 5-9 and will miss the playoffs for the second year in row.
The Bengals have been successful under Lewis. He was hired prior to the 2003 season. In his 15 years the Bengals record is 123-112 heading into the final 2 games with 3 ties. His winning percentage is .523. They made the playoffs 7 times. Preceding the hire of Lewis, Cincinnati made the postseason only once in 1990. The most wins they had under him was in 2015 when they went 12-4. The only problem is Lewis never won a playoff game. The Bengals never seemed ready for a big game under him.
If this is the last of Lewis in Cincinnati, he was successful at least in the regular season. Not many coaches stay with a team for 15 years let alone 7 playoff appearances. The only goal he failed to reach was to bring the city a Super Bowl victory. Time will only tell what will happen to Lewis once the season is over. The Bengals are going to make the decision they feel is best for the franchise which might be hiring a new head coach to lead this football team.
What do you think of the possibility of Marvin Lewis not coming back at the end of the season?
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