Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis Has Hottest Seat in 2017

Oct 30, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis reacts in the second quarter against the Washington Redskins during game 17 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Marvin Lewis is a lonely man. He knows that his livelihood as an NFL head coach has never been in greater jeopardy before than it is in 2017.

For only the second time in the past eight seasons the Cincinnati Bengals finished with a losing record. That is not a good look for a head coach who doesn’t have many legs left to stand on. Five-straight years of playoff football with nothing to show for it. To almost everybody who follows the team on a casual level can see this is a make-or-break season for the veteran coach.

Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated broke down all the head coaches who are fighting for their jobs this coming season. Names like Mike McCarthy and Chuck Pagano were on the list at varying temperatures. The man at the top though, or bottom in this case? None other that Lewis himself. One of the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL may finally be seeing cracks in his once invincible aura of stability.

"“The Bengals value stability, to say the least, and Lewis has delivered 118 wins, seven playoff trips and four division titles since taking over in 2003. He also still has yet to claim a postseason victory. When is enough, enough? Cincinnati did have a run of five straight playoff berths going until last season’s 6-9-1 slip up, but that letdown may have depleted whatever remaining good vibes Lewis had built up.”"

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Everybody knows the primary score with Lewis. He’s been employed by the Bengals for 14 years and doesn’t have a single playoff victory to show for it. At what point does stability become a pair of handcuffs preventing the team from realizing its full potential? There is also the fact that Lewis turns 59-years old in September. History shows that coaches employed at the same job for this long without a championship win never get one. Ask Bud Grant, Marv Levy, and Jeff Fisher among others.

Could it be chalked up to ownership just being stubborn? Possibly. Or maybe it’s a byproduct of what the team went through in the 1990s. Remember the franchise had three different head coaches in the space of that decade and then another from 2000 to 2002 in Dick Lebeau. That’s four head coaches in a 12-year span. Once Lewis gave them a taste of even modest success, the team grew content to ride it out.

It’s not an uncommon occurrence in the NFL but no less destructive to finding out the true capabilities a talented roster may have. Would the Buccaneers or Broncos have won their championships since 2000 had they not had the guts to change head coaches at the 11th hour? It’s a fair question Cincinnati will have to ponder if the team keeps losing.

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