Bengals Not Expected To Part Ways With HC Marvin Lewis, May Allow Him To Enter Lame-Duck Season

Jason La Canfora, citing league sources, reports that the Bengals are not expected to part ways with long-time HC Marvin Lewis after the season.

However, La Canfora’s sources have said that Lewis is “far less likely” to receive a one-year extension this summer like he has multiple times in the past few years. According to La Canfora, it’s possible the Bengals allow Lewis to enter a lame-duck season in 2017 before making a decision regarding his future with the franchise.

Should the Bengals be in the market for a new head coach in 2018, La Canfora says Lewis could transition to a front-office position with the team.

One internal option to eventually replace Lewis could be defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, who is highly thought of by owner Mike Brown and the organization as a whole.

Rumors surfaced earlier in the week that Lewis was preparing to walk away next year and has already been packing up his office. However, reports later shot this down and Lewis, himself, said they were inaccurate.

Lewis, 58, was hired as the Bengals’ head coach back in 2003 and has spent 14 seasons with the team. The expectations were for the Bengals to continue their string of playoff appearances but they’ve already clinched a losing season for the first time since 2010.

In total, the Bengals are 117-103-3 (53.1 percent) under Lewis, which includes seven trips to the postseason but no playoff wins.

We’ll have more regarding Lewis’ future with the Bengals as the news is available.