The week that was
The Marvin in Cincinnati appears to be bullet proof
Remember the scene in Pulp Fiction when Vincent (John Travolta) accidentally shoots Marvin in the face? Well our Marvin (Lewis) is downright bulletproof.
Lewis and his Bengals knocked the Lions and Ravens out of playoff contention in back to back weeks and in the process saving his job. I joked on twitter that after the win in Baltimore, the Bengals would reverse course and give Marvin a 5-year extension. Well, I was wrong. It was two years.
By all accounts Marvin was gone. That’s what makes the win in Baltimore nothing short of a miracle. Fourth and 12...under a minute to play...Andy Dalton finds Tyler Boyd for a 49-yard TD to snatch victory for the jaws of defeat. Lost on no one in Cincinnati by the way, is that these are precisely the games that Lewis would lose...especially in the postseason.
Yet despite back to back losing seasons and an 0-7 postseason record; Marvin Lewis will return for a 16th season at the helm of the Bengals.
In a strange way you almost have to admire team president, Mike Brown. He’s known as a guy who doesn’t like change. He’s a fan of Lewis. Brown praised Lewis as “an important member of the Cincinnati community and the Bengals for the past 15 years.” I wonder if Brown still receives DVDs from Netflix too.
Now there will be a overhauling off the coaching staff. Lewis said he’s “starting from scratch”. There is also the fact the Bengals don’t have an indoor practice facility. They take a bus to the University of Cincinnati when it’s too cold.
In the end, Brown and Lewis deserve each other. You have an exec that fears the unknown. And for good or for bad you know what you’re getting with Marvin. And the players love that dude. To a man, you seemingly can’t find anyone to say anything bad about the second longest tenured head coach in the NFL. The first has had a bit more success in New England.
So Bengal fans will just have to rally. They’ll convince themselves that this year will be the year. Hell, forget the Super Bowl. A win in the postseason will be validation enough.
And remember, when Marvin Lewis took over the Bengals they were a laughing stock. Unfortunately, they’ve become a punch line.
You can listen to my radio show, The Sports Bosses , weekdays at 10am ET on SBNation Radio. Follow me on Twitter @mediarodriguez
