You’re not the only one who is surprised that the Cincinnati Bengals brought Marvin Lewis back on a two-year contract extension. Even his own staff was surprised by the news.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Tuesday that the Bengals’ assistant coaches were stunned by the news that Lewis signed a two-year extension with the team.
Bengals coaches certain they had coached their last game under Marvin Lewis among those who are stunned but happy with news he has signed a 2-yr extension
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 2, 2018
Multiple reports towards the end of the season had suggested that Lewis would not return to the team next season. However, Cincinnati must have put on the full-court press to retain him for fear of losing Lewis to another team.
What probably also helped Lewis’ case was that after consecutive embarrassing losses to the Bears and Vikings in which his team was outscored 77-14, the Bengals closed the season with wins over the Lions and Ravens, both of which helped keep the other team out of the playoffs. Perhaps those victories convinced the front office that Lewis hadn’t lost the team.
