After their season finale loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, the Cincinnati Bengals elected to move on from long-time head coach Marvin Lews after he spent the last 16 seasons with the organization.
BREAKING: #Bengals and Marvin Lewis have mutually decided to part ways after 16 seasons.
?: https://t.co/RwhHcaMcM9 pic.twitter.com/VVedKCpzRG
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 31, 2018
Lewis News Conference: 12/31 https://t.co/0Oj1YB2V4N
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 31, 2018
Lewis’ exit had long been rumored since he finished 6-9 in 2016. According to reports, Lewis restructured his contract to be a 1+1 deal so both sides could assess the situation after this season.
Marvin Lewis took over the job as Cincinnati Bengals head coach in 2003 as the team elected to move on from Dick LeBeau. Lewis’ first two seasons saw back to back 8-8 finishes but in 2005 things started to change. The Bengals posted an 11-5 record as the Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson duo broke out into one of the more formidable combinations in the NFL.
It was Lewis’ first of seven playoff appearances as the Bengals head coach. The Bengals won the AFC North four times under Lewis but each time they were eliminated in the Wild Card round as the home team. In fact, Lewis went 0-7 as the Bengals head coach in the postseason never getting beyond the Wild Card round, long confirming the trope that he couldn’t get it done when it mattered most.
Overall, Lewis posted a 131-122-3 record with the Bengals finishing below .500 six times as head coach. He was a very solid coach but didn’t take his teams to that next level despite being the coach of solidified playmakers in Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, AJ Green, Andy Dalton, Geno Atkins, Leon Hall, Joe Mixon and Jeremy Hill, just to name a few.
