Cincinnati Bengals Finally Seeing Truth Of Marvin Lewis
By Erik Lambert
It really is a surprise it has taken the Cincinnati Bengals this long to begin questioning Marvin Lewis. Nobody is saying he’s a bad guy or a bad coach. He deserves plenty of credit for turning around the careers of several thought-to-be lost souls in the NFL and keeping the organization relevant in a tough AFC North. Yet after seven playoff trips and zero wins to show for it, the time has come to question whether or not his ceiling as a head coach has been reached.
The loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is the perfect encapsulation of his tenure. He had home field advantage. He arguably had the better team and he still found a way to lose. In 2005 it was them falling apart after Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury. In 2013 it was the mistake-prone passing of Andy Dalton. This time it was the mind-blowing penalties by Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones. One must venture the criticism that Lewis continues to not have his players prepared. They don’t play loose or with confidence, which leads to bad mental errors.
That falls on the head coach. There are few excuses, if any left for him. He’s had seven cracks at postseason play with two different Pro Bowl quarterbacks and well-balanced rosters. To not have a single victory to show for it is not an indictment on his character but a simple condemnation of his ability to coach under pressure. He shouldn’t feel bad. Other coaches have done a far worse job in the NFL than he has.
Even so, the Cincinnati Bengals have to start thinking about trying something else because the formula they’ve supported and stuck to under Marvin Lewis has had over a decade to work and hasn’t. If they don’t make a change, it’s hard to imagine anything else will change.