Marvin

Lewis

The 65-year-old former longtime Bengals head man had already been serving in an informal capacity on first-time head coach Antonio Pierce’s staff. He’ll now have an elevated role as a formal mentor and extra pair of defensive eyes. It’s an excellent hire for a coach in Pierce who needs to figure out how to transfer his stretch-run emotion into a multi-year solution on the Vegas sidelines. Underrated because of his perpetual playoff failures, Lewis is one of the better NFL coaches of the 21st century.

Lewis is a well-renowned defensive mind and went 131-122-3 in 16 seasons as the Bengals head coach. Lewis served as Pierce’s defensive coordinator during their 2002 season in Washington when Pierce was a player and was brought on by Pierce shortly after he accepted the interim role as the Raiders’ head coach midway through last season. Last year’s defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, remains on the Raiders staff, meaning Lewis’ role — if any — will likely be that of a high-level assistant/mentor.

The Jets join Houston and Detroit. A program builder, Lewis would immediately stabilize the culture in all three battered organizations, but it is justifiably difficult for fans to see beyond his 0-7 record in the postseason. Lewis would settle his defensive side of the ball, but offensive stagnation was a continuous problem in Cincinnati. There is a chance Lewis would end up a great retread hire for any of these clubs, but it would probably be better to give a younger, more unknown talent a chance than recycle Lewis following his marathon tenure in Cincinnati.

Lewis, 62, wrapped up his first year as the Sun Devils’ co-DC on Herm Edwards’ staff. He spent 2019 out of coaching after getting fired by the Bengals following the 2018 campaign, where he spent 16 seasons. Lewis has interviewed in Dallas, Houston, and Detroit over the last two years. The Lions may be looking for a more experienced coach following the Matt Patricia disaster. But they’re expected to cast a wide net over the next couple weeks.

62-year-old Lewis spent the past season as the “co-defensive coordinator” for the Arizona State Sun Devils. That is not a joke. Lewis was a program builder in Cincinnati, turning one of the biggest laughingstocks in North American sports into an annual playoff threat. The problem, of course, was his lack of finishing ability, with the Bengals going an inconceivable 0-7 in the postseason on Lewis’ watch. He never had a quarterback like Deshaun Watson, but Carson Palmer came close. Lewis’ ways had grown extremely stale by the end of his time in the Queen City, but he would certainly provide stability to what is currently one of the least stable franchises in the NFL. The Texans could do worse. They could also do a whole lot better.

Lewis interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys last month but left without a job. He’ll now work under Herm Edwards at Arizona State as a defensive assistant. Lewis is likely viewing this as a stop gap into getting back into the NFL but returning to the league as a coordinator isn’t guaranteed at this point.

Apparently Jason Garrett is still fighting for his job and continues to lobby to be the Cowboys head coach in 2020. And yet, the Cowboys have reportedly already conducted multiple other interviews and are looking at Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. Glazer added, “But again they still have to tell Garrett ‘No, you’re gone. We’re moving on.’ Never seen anything like it.”

The Cowboys are “focusing in on” coaches with previous experience. That makes them doubtful to hire any of the coordinators interviewing this cycle, or someone like Baylor’s Matt Rhule. In win-now mode, the Cowboys look likely to go the retread route — also meeting with ex-Packers coach Mike McCarthy. Lewis was linked to the Redskins before they signed Ron Rivera. Along with McCarthy, Lewis is another low-upside hire connected to Dallas.

Lewis spent this season in an advisory role at Arizona State. He’s said he doesn’t want to return to the NFL, but there are rumblings he’s already interviewed for the Redskins job. Lewis had a winning record during his 16-year tenure with the Bengals and would be a safe hire for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015. Hiring Lewis would suggest the Redskins are in win-now mode despite having one of the worst rosters in the league.

The former Bengals head coach Lewis is currently serving in an advisory role alongside Herm Edwards at Arizona State. While Lewis previously claimed he didn’t anticipate a return to coaching, some believe the 61-year-old would amend that stance if the right opportunity came along. The NFL has trended toward hiring younger head coaches in recent years, though many front offices still value Lewis’ experience. Despite a winning regular season record during his 16-year stint in Cincinnati (131-122), Lewis has never advanced past the Wild Card round, coming up empty in each of his seven playoff appearances.