Another Year of Marvin

Last week, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that head coach Marvin Lewis signed a contract extension meaning he will be with the team through the 2016 NFL season. This was a very interesting piece of Bengals news that seemingly came from out of nowhere. There had been no sign that the Bengals and Coach Lewis were in contract talks and with the team having multiple starters entering a contract season, I figured that Mike Brown would be more concerned with signing some of his impact players to bigger contracts such as A.J. Green, who is not only a star wide receiver in the NFL but who is also the best player on the team in my opinion. This post is about Marvin, however, and I will discuss what Marvin has and hasn’t done with the Bengals in an attempt to explain the polarizing feel to his contract extension among many fans of the Bengals.

Let us go back to the 1990’s. This decade is known as the Dark Age for Who Dey Nation as the Bengals were the definition of terrible. They were an NFL laughingstock and were bestowed the nickname of the “Bungles.” Needless to say, times were tough for Bengals fans and after posting a record of 2-14 which resulted in a last place finish in not only the division but in the entire NFL in 2002, Dick LeBeau was fired as head coach and replaced by Marvin Lewis.

I will never forget the first game during the Marvin Lewis era as a fan in the Paul Brown Stadium crowd had a sign that said “We’re Starvin’ Marvin.” It summed up what Cincinnati had been feeling for years, and Coach Lewis and the 2003 Bengals flipped the script and finished with a record of 8-8 and a second place finish in the division. It was incredible. You would have thought that the team actually won the division as fan support for the Bengals was the highest that it had been in years and optimism for the future began to run rampant in the queen city.

Following his 2003 campaign as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals have been two more .500 seasons, three losing seasons, and six winning seasons which resulted in six playoff appearances and three AFC North Division Championships. It has been a dramatic turnaround since the Dark Age; however, the success in the regular season has not transitioned into success in the postseason.

Despite six playoff appearances, Coach Lewis has yet to lead the Bengals to a postseason victory. The Bengals have been beaten every single time they reached the playoffs, which have led many Bengals fans to call for a change in coaching leadership. While winning during the regular season is nice, a Super Bowl championship is what Cincinnati so desperately desires and a lot of members of Who Dey Nation feel that Coach Lewis has been given plenty of opportunities to deliver the Lombardi Trophy to the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

So does Marvin really deserve another year as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals? It’s debatable and both sides have valid points as to whether he should stay or go. The decision is ultimately Mike Brown’s to make, and if he feels that Marvin Lewis is the proper coach for the team, then there is nothing that you, me, or any other fan of the Bengals can do about it. The same would be true if Brown decided to go in another coaching direction. It is important to remember though that the team is not called the Cincinnati Marvins. It is called the Cincinnati Bengals, and we root for the team, not the coach. So whether you support him or hate him, Marvin is here to stay through 2016. All we can do is hope he finally solves the puzzle and ends not only the postseason victory draught, but the Super Bowl one as well.

Who Dey!