One of the longest coaching tenures in NFL history has come to an end, as Marvin Lewis is done in Cincinnati.
Bengals owner Mike Brown decided this morning to fire Lewis, NFL Network reports.
Lewis was expected to be fired last year, but in a surprise move he signed a two-year contract extension. This year, however, was a mess, as the Bengals finished in last place in the AFC North.
Although Lewis turned around a moribund Bengals franchise and made them respectable, he never won a playoff game. If you go 16 years without winning a playoff game, you’re not going to have job security anywhere. Even in Cincinnati.
Now the Bengals will begin a search to try to find a coach who can win the franchise’s first playoff game since 1990. Brown has never been known as a big spender, and so the Bengals may struggle to attract a top-notch head coach. But they’ll find someone, perhaps someone who can get them out of last place in a tough division.
