Marvin Lewis

Marvin Ronald Lewis (September 23, 1958) is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, a position he has held since January 14, 2003, making him the 3rd longest tenured head coach in the NFL. Previously, he was notable as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, whose record-setting defense helped them win Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants.

In 2005, under Lewis, the Bengals had their first winning season and won their first division title in fifteen years.

The Associated Press named Marvin Lewis its 2009 coach of the year following a 10-6 regular season and another AFC North division championship. He is the first Bengals coach to win the award since team founder Paul Brown in 1970. He is the longest tenuered coach in Bengals history and holds the franchise record for most wins, surpassing Sam Wyche on October 30, 2011.

Marvin Lewis was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of McDonald, Pennsylvania and attended Idaho State University and primarily played linebacker. In 2001, he was inducted into Idaho State University's Sports Hall of Fame.

Playing career
In addition to playing quarterback and safety at Fort Cherry Junior-Senior High School (PA), Marvin Lewis wrestled and played baseball. He was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference selection.

Lewis was not drafted by a National Football League team and he never pursued a professional playing career.

College
Marvin Lewis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Idaho State before becoming the team's linebackers coach for four seasons (1981–1984). Idaho State won the NCAA Division I-AA Championship during his first year with the team.

Lewis was an assistant coach at Long Beach State University (1985–1986), the University of New Mexico (1987–1989), and the University of Pittsburgh (1990–1992).

Assistant Coach
Marvin Lewis had coaching internships with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers before being hired as the linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992. He was on the Steelers' Super Bowl XXX team which lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

The newly-relocated Baltimore Ravens (formerly the Cleveland Browns), hired Lewis as their defensive coordinator in 1996, a position that he held for six seasons (1996–2001). In 2000, the Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV thanks largely to a defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards (970) and the fewest points (165) in a 16-game regular season. "If ever a man proved his worth as a future head coach, Marvin Lewis did it with this complete domination of the Giants in their 16 possessions: Punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, interception, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, end of game", wrote Sports Illustrated writer Michael Silver after the game.

Lewis was a prime candidate for several NFL head coaching jobs, but was passed over each time. Most notably, he nearly became head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. General manager Rich McKay was ready to formally offer the job to Lewis, and the Ravens actually held a going-away party for him. However, the team's owners, the Glazer family, were unwilling to give the job to another defense-minded coach after firing Tony Dungy. Shortly afterward, Lewis was hired by the Washington Redskins as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Steve Spurrier.

Cincinnati Bengals
Marvin Lewis became the ninth coach in Cincinnati Bengals history on January 14, 2003, when he was hired to replace Dick LeBeau, who was fired after the worst season in franchise history, edging out Tom Coughlin (now head coach of the New York Giants) and Mike Mularkey (Head Coach of the Jacksonvile Jaguars). Lewis also had interviews with the Buffalo Bills, the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Cleveland Browns. Lewis also declined head coaching positions in the college ranks with the University of California, Berkeley and Michigan State University to continue pursuing his goal of becoming a head coach in the NFL.

A contending team in the mid-late 1970s through the 1980s, the Cincinnati Bengals had fallen on hard times in the 1990s and had had several head coaches. After consecutive 8-8 seasons, Lewis shaped the Bengals into contenders with a nucleus of young players such as quarterback Carson Palmer, running back Rudi Johnson, and receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, defensive backs Tory James and Deltha O'Neal. In 2005, the Bengals recorded an 11-5 record and made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, losing in the first round to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

The Bengals dropped to 8-8 the following year, a disappointing season in which they started out 8-5 and then lost their last three games of the season, any one of which could have gotten them into the playoffs with a win. Then they recorded two consecutive losing seasons, including a 4-11-1 record in 2008, the worst of Lewis' career. But in 2009, Cincinnati recorded their second winning season under Lewis' tenure. This included wins in all six games against their AFC North opponents, marking the first time in franchise history they accomplished this feat. The Bengals finished the season 10-6, winning the AFC north title and earning only their second trip to the playoffs in 19 years. On January 9, 2010 The Bengals were defeated by the New York Jets 24-14 in the opening round of the playoffs. On January 16, 2010 Lewis was named the Associated Press 2009 NFL coach of the year, after the Bengals improved from a 4-11-1 record in 2008 to a 10-6 regular season record in 2009.

The Bengals slipped to a 4-12 record in 2010, the worst since Lewis took over as coach. On January 4, 2011, Lewis signed an extension with the Bengals. . The off-season leading up to 2011 was a difficult time for the Bengals. They lost three of their most productive players from the 2010, receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco along with defensive back Jonathan Joseph, while quarterback Carson Palmer, the team's starter since 2004, refused to play for them anymore (he was traded midway through the season).

However, with the aid of strong play from their first and second round draft picks, receiver A. J. Green and quarterback Andy Dalton, the Bengals still managed to record their third winning season under Lewis. Midway through 2011, Lewis set the franchise record for wins with his 65th coaching victory, surpassing the previous record of 64 by Sam Wyche. By the halfway mark, the Bengals record was 6-2, including a five game winning streak. It was the first time the Bengals had won five consecutive games since 1988, when the team advanced to the Super Bowl with Wyche as their coach. They finished the season 9-7 and made the playoffs as the #6 seed.

Coaching tree
NFL head coaches under whom Marvin Lewis has served:
 * Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh Steelers (1992–1995)
 * Ted Marchibroda, Baltimore Ravens (1996–1998)
 * Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens (1999–2001)
 * Steve Spurrier, Washington Redskins (2002)

Assistant coaches under Marvin Lewis who have become NFL head coaches:


 * Leslie Frazier, Minnesota Vikings (2010–Present)
 * Hue Jackson, Oakland Raiders (2011)