NFL special: Last season for Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis?
Even though Marvin Lewis would like to keep his job as Cincinnati Bengals head coach, he feels that it’s time to move on unless the team makes the changes that Lewis has been pushing for since taking over as head coach.
Lewis’ contract is set to expire at the end of the season, but will meet with the president of the Bengals, Mike Brown, on Monday.
"All I know is, officially today I'm no longer employed," Lewis said. "Where I am right now in my coaching career is a different point from where I was eight years ago, and I think this football team is a lot different than it was eight years ago, and that's
good. ... We're in a good spot."
Lewis wants to stay only if the team meets his demands. He wants the player personnel department and training facilities to be updated, which is why he did not sign the extension contract that was offered to him before the start of the season.
If the team does not budge on the issues, which they probably won’t, then Lewis will not be coming back next year, making him the next wanted coach in the free market.
The Bengals have had only two winning seasons and lost the playoff games during those seasons in eight years. Lewis has won 60 games, lost 67, and tied one as of today.
Before their division title in 2005, the Bengals had not had a winning record in 15 years. They won the division crown again last year and overpaid their roster to try and win the division two years in a row for the first time in franchise history.
They failed miserably.
Lewis coached during what is arguable the team’s biggest disappointment. They tied a team record by losing ten games in a row and Terrell Owens, receiver, said that the entire blame rests on the shoulders of the coaching staff. The Bengals were also unable
to sell out their last four home games.
If Lewis does leave, the Bengals already have a candidate for the job from their own family - defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer.
Tags: