Bengals coach Marvin Lewis plans to leave team, explore other opportunities
10:31 AM ET
Adam SchefterESPN Senior Writer
After 15 seasons in Cincinnati that have made him the longest-tenured head coach in franchise history, Marvin Lewis is planning to leave the Bengals after this season to pursue opportunities elsewhere, league sources told ESPN.
As he has done in the past, Lewis willingly opted to enter 2017 on the final year of his contract, but unlike other years, this time he is planning to leave Cincinnati, sources said.
With a flurry of head-coaching openings expected in the coming weeks and a shortage of obvious head-coaching candidates with experience, Lewis is likely to be on teams' short lists of candidates, league sources said.
Finally Changing His Stripes?
Hired in 2003, Marvin Lewis is the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL, trailing only the Patriots' Bill Belichick.
Longest Tenures by Current Head Coaches
Coach Team Season Hired
Bill Belichick Patriots 2000
Marvin Lewis Bengals 2003
Mike McCarthy Packers 2006
Sean Payton* Saints 2006
Mike Tomlin Steelers 2007
* Suspended for 2012 season
If a head-coaching job does not materialize, sources said Lewis would be interested in working in another team's front office or as a coaching adviser for a former Bengals assistant coach who has gone on to become a head coach, such as Mike Zimmer, whose Minnesota Vikings host the Bengals on Sunday.
Not only is Lewis' contract up, but so are those of most, if not all, of the Bengals' assistant coaches. The Bengals have declined to give contract extensions to their assistant coaches, and some are unhappy with the way they have been treated financially, sources said.
Amid the uncertainty and potential change, the Bengals are likely to undergo a major overhaul to their coaching staff. Some assistants could wind up staying, but many are expected to leave along with Lewis.
Despite regular-season success, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has yet to win a postseason game. Joe Robbins/Getty Images
When Lewis leaves the Bengals, it will mark the end of a chapter in which Cincinnati returned to prominence but failed to advance in the postseason.
When he accepted the job on Jan. 14, 2003, the Bengals were one of the NFL's laughingstock franchises, coming off the worst season in franchise history. Lewis beat out Tom Coughlin and Mike Mularkey for the job and almost immediately remade and elevated the roster.
Marvin Lewis' Playoff Pain
Marvin Lewis hasn't been able to help the Bengals advance in the postseason. Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the longest active drought in the NFL.
Worst Postseason Coaching Records (min. 5 games)
Coach Record
Marvin Lewis 0-7
Jim Mora 0-6
Sid Gillman 1-5
Jack Pardee 1-5
Wade Phillips 1-5
-- Elias Sports Bureau
Lewis helped make the Bengals relevant again, but he never led the team to a postseason win. His seven playoff losses, each as disappointing as the next, made Lewis the only head coach in history to lose his first seven postseason games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
But Lewis has compiled a 123-111-3 record that, at a time in which the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have been among the NFL's elite franchises, was good enough to win the AFC North four times.
The Bengals' 2017 season has been defined by disappointment and injuries. When the 5-8 Bengals face the Vikings, they will be without starting cornerbacks Adam Jones, who is on injured reserve, and Dre Kirkpatrick, who has a concussion. Bengals linebackers Vontaze Burfict (concussion), Kevin Minter (hamstring) and Nick Vigil (ankle) also are out. They are expected to get safety Shawn Williams back from a hamstring injury.
10:31 AM ET
Adam SchefterESPN Senior Writer
After 15 seasons in Cincinnati that have made him the longest-tenured head coach in franchise history, Marvin Lewis is planning to leave the Bengals after this season to pursue opportunities elsewhere, league sources told ESPN.
As he has done in the past, Lewis willingly opted to enter 2017 on the final year of his contract, but unlike other years, this time he is planning to leave Cincinnati, sources said.
With a flurry of head-coaching openings expected in the coming weeks and a shortage of obvious head-coaching candidates with experience, Lewis is likely to be on teams' short lists of candidates, league sources said.
Finally Changing His Stripes?
Hired in 2003, Marvin Lewis is the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL, trailing only the Patriots' Bill Belichick.
Longest Tenures by Current Head Coaches
Coach Team Season Hired
Bill Belichick Patriots 2000
Marvin Lewis Bengals 2003
Mike McCarthy Packers 2006
Sean Payton* Saints 2006
Mike Tomlin Steelers 2007
* Suspended for 2012 season
If a head-coaching job does not materialize, sources said Lewis would be interested in working in another team's front office or as a coaching adviser for a former Bengals assistant coach who has gone on to become a head coach, such as Mike Zimmer, whose Minnesota Vikings host the Bengals on Sunday.
Not only is Lewis' contract up, but so are those of most, if not all, of the Bengals' assistant coaches. The Bengals have declined to give contract extensions to their assistant coaches, and some are unhappy with the way they have been treated financially, sources said.
Amid the uncertainty and potential change, the Bengals are likely to undergo a major overhaul to their coaching staff. Some assistants could wind up staying, but many are expected to leave along with Lewis.
Despite regular-season success, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has yet to win a postseason game. Joe Robbins/Getty Images
When Lewis leaves the Bengals, it will mark the end of a chapter in which Cincinnati returned to prominence but failed to advance in the postseason.
When he accepted the job on Jan. 14, 2003, the Bengals were one of the NFL's laughingstock franchises, coming off the worst season in franchise history. Lewis beat out Tom Coughlin and Mike Mularkey for the job and almost immediately remade and elevated the roster.
Marvin Lewis' Playoff Pain
Marvin Lewis hasn't been able to help the Bengals advance in the postseason. Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the longest active drought in the NFL.
Worst Postseason Coaching Records (min. 5 games)
Coach Record
Marvin Lewis 0-7
Jim Mora 0-6
Sid Gillman 1-5
Jack Pardee 1-5
Wade Phillips 1-5
-- Elias Sports Bureau
Lewis helped make the Bengals relevant again, but he never led the team to a postseason win. His seven playoff losses, each as disappointing as the next, made Lewis the only head coach in history to lose his first seven postseason games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
But Lewis has compiled a 123-111-3 record that, at a time in which the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have been among the NFL's elite franchises, was good enough to win the AFC North four times.
The Bengals' 2017 season has been defined by disappointment and injuries. When the 5-8 Bengals face the Vikings, they will be without starting cornerbacks Adam Jones, who is on injured reserve, and Dre Kirkpatrick, who has a concussion. Bengals linebackers Vontaze Burfict (concussion), Kevin Minter (hamstring) and Nick Vigil (ankle) also are out. They are expected to get safety Shawn Williams back from a hamstring injury.
Ya, he was either told he was going to be fired or just assumed it. This is just a proactive thing to make himself look good.
