Just when you thought Marvin Lewis’ time as Cincinnati Bengals head coach was over, the man returns.
Lewis received a two-year contract extension from the Bengals to remain as the team’s head coach, the team announced on Tuesday.
NEWS: #Bengals sign Head Coach Marvin Lewis to a two-year contract, running through the 2019 season. pic.twitter.com/FwdMelWeec
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 2, 2018
There has been chatter all season long that Lewis would not return to the team. Perhaps that was Lewis’ side looking to create some leverage in contract talks.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says other teams were interested in hiring Lewis, which may have led the Bengals to give him the two-year deal.
Lewis, who has been the Bengals’ coach since 2003, is one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the league. The team had made the playoffs five straight seasons under him but have slipped to losing records the last two. The team has reached the playoffs seven times under Lewis but failed to win a game and got eliminated in the wild-card round each time.
