Marvin Lewis Could Be Back As A Head Coach In The NFL Next Season

By Jordan Long

The NFL regular season has two weeks left.  Once the last game is played on January 3rd,  some teams will decide the fate of their head coaches.  Already this year, Houston, Atlanta, and Detroit have openings.  More franchises are expected to have head coaching vacancies.  One coach who could be in the mix for a head coaching job is Marvin Lewis.

                Lewis is a defensive minded coach.  He spent the last two years with Arizona State under Head Coach Herm Edwards.  Lewis was the co-defensive coordinator this season.  With his help, Arizona State went 2-2 in a shortened weird Pac-12 season.  They decided to opt-out of the Bowl season.  Lewis could be ready to make a return to the NFL.

                Lewis is an experienced Head Coach at the NFL level, spending 16 years with the Cincinnati Bengals.  Cincinnati went 131-122-3 under him, a winning percentage of .518.  Cincinnati experienced 6 losing seasons with Lewis.

                Cincinnati won the AFC North Division 4 times with him while advancing to the playoffs 7 times.  It always ended in heartbreak.  The Bengals were never able to win a playoff game under Lewis.  They have one of the longest droughts for their last playoff win in NFL history.  They have not won a playoff game since they knocked off the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card Round in 1990. 

                The Bengals finally had enough of Lewis and let him go after the 2018 season.  Cincinnati ended up 6-10, missing the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row.  It was also their third straight season where they ended with a losing record.

                Lewis is eager to be back in the NFL.  He was in consideration for the head coaching jobs in both Washington and Dallas last offseason, but those jobs went to someone else.  Washington hired Ron Rivera while Dallas went with Mike McCarthy. 

Lewis proved in the right situation he can turn around an NFL team with him running the defense.  It could be Lewis might have to wait a year to be a Head Coach at the NFL level. Teams may not want to take a chance with him yet.  It could be best for him to be a defensive coordinator to show he can still coach in the NFL.  Lewis should be on an NFL sideline in 2021.  If not, it is back to the college game with Arizona State.