AFC Rumors: Bengals, Browns, Dolphins

Bengals

• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that some around the NFL think Bengals HC Marvin Lewis will resign after the season.
• According to Florio, some still think Hue Jackson will get “serious consideration” for the Bengals’ job if Lewis isn’t back with the team.
• Florio adds that there’s also some who think the Bengals could try to hire Vikings HC Mike Zimmer as Lewis’ replacement. In fact, Florio adds that some believe Zimmer may actually have interest in returning to Cincinnati, depending on whether the Vikings would be willing to let him go.

Browns

• Jason La Canfora reports that Browns interim HC Gregg Williams has “seriously enhanced” the odds of keeping the job on a full-time basis with the team’s drastic turnaround.
• However, the Browns plan to interview other candidates for the job and continue their head-coaching search in the coming weeks.
• Sources tell La Canfora that the overriding sentiment among the locker room to keep Williams is not lost on Browns ownership or management.
• La Canfora points out that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has twice tried to hire Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, so he’s worth keeping an eye on for them.

Dolphins

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross remains undecided about whether to keep HC Adam Gase for a fourth season.

Florio says that the lean right now is to make a change, but Ross prefers to have confidence that he’ll be able to hire a significant upgrade before making a move.

Miami is expected to fire executive VP Mike Tannenbaum, but keeping Gase could create an issue, given that Gase has final say over personnel matters. This creates a situation where Gase would either have to agree to give up personnel control or Ross would have to fire him and start over.

Ross is believed to have interest in Ravens HC John Harbaugh and recent reports have said that he could be available for trade. However, it remains to be seen whether Ross would be willing to meet the Ravens’ asking price for Harbaugh, who could be the top overall candidate.