Marvin Lewis is heading into his 12th season with the Bengals, but that doesn’t count for a whole lot in a recent Sporting News Poll, which ranked Lewis as the 18th (out of 32) best coach in the NFL.
Here’s the brief on Lewis:
Nobody in the NFL needs to win a playoff game, just one, more than Lewis, who chugs into Season 12 in Cincinnati. Yet he’s long overdue credit for raising the bar of expectations in a place where there were none for more than a decade, when they were a punchline. That being said, one-and-done isn’t good enough anymore.
The poll is accurate when describing the Lewis era. Before he arrived, the Bengals were a sorry franchise. It was under Lewis the franchise returned to relevancy (with some stinkers in-between). Under Lewis, the Bengals have reached the playoffs the past three seasons.
But that’s the problem. Getting to the postseason is one thing–winning is another. In 11 seasons, Lewis’ teams have made the playoffs five times, with zero wins to show for it.
Under the Nati Lights 