Bengals Fire HC Marvin Lewis

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Bengals owner Mike Brown informed HC Marvis Lewis he is out as the team’s head coach.

Here’s a statement from Bengals owner Mike Brown:

“The team is very appreciative of all that Marvin has accomplished over the past 16 years. I thank him for what he’s meant to this franchise.”

Reports mentioned that Lewis’ future in Cincinnati was in doubt, despite returning to the team on a two-year contract last year.

In fact, the expectation was that Lewis and the Bengals were going to part ways after last season, but they managed to strike a deal for him to return.

Speculation regarding the Bengals has been that Brown is likely to target a coach with ties to team such as Vance Joseph, Mike Zimmer or Jay Gruden, depending on who’s available.

Lewis, 60, was hired as the Bengals’ head coach back in 2003 and has spent 14 seasons with the team. The Bengals announced last year that they re-signed Lewis to a new two-year extension.

In total, the Bengals are 131-122-3 (51.8 percent) under Lewis, which includes seven trips to the postseason but no playoff wins.