Marvin Lewis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marvin Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 23, 1958 |
| Place of birth |  McDonald, Pennsylvania |
| Position(s) | Head Coach |
| College | Idaho State |
| Career Highlights | |
| Career Record | 35-30-0 (Regular season) 0-1-0 (Postseason) 35-31-0 (Overall) |
| Stats | |
| Coaching Stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Coaching Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1981-1984 1985-1986 1987-1989 1990-1991 1992-1995 1996-2001 2002 2003-Present |
Idaho State University (linebackers coach) Long Beach State (linebackers coach) University of New Mexico (linebackers coach) University of Pittsburgh (linebackers coach) Pittsburgh Steelers (linebackers coach) Baltimore Ravens (defensive coordinator) Washington Redskins (defensive coordinator) Cincinnati Bengals (head coach) |
Marvin Ronald Lewis (September 23, 1958) has been the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League since January 14, 2003.
Lewis is the only head coach in Bengals history who has not experienced a losing season and, in 2005, led the Bengals to their first winning season and division title in 15 years.
Contents |
[edit] Playing Career
In addition to playing quarterback and safety at Fort Cherry (Pa.) High School, Lewis wrestled and played baseball. He was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference linebacker with Idaho State University but was not drafted out of college and never played in the NFL.
Lewis was inducted into the Idaho State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
[edit] Coaching Career
[edit] College
Lewis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Idaho State before becoming the team's linebacker coach for four seasons (1981-1984). The Bengals won the NCAA Division I-AA Championship during his first year with the team.
As a linebacker coach, he coached for Idaho State from 1981-84, then Long Beach State from 1985-85, and University of New Mexico from 1987-89. He coached outside linebackers at the University of Pittsburgh from 1990-92.
[edit] National Football League
[edit] Assistant Coach
Lewis had coaching internships with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers before serving as the linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers for four seasons (1992-1996). He coached four Pro Bowl linebackers while with the Steelers.
The newly relocated Baltimore Ravens hired Lewis as their defensive coordinator in 1996, a position that he held for six seasons (1996-2001). In 2000, the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV thanks to a defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards (970) and the fewest points (165) in a 16-game season.
After being passed over for several head coaching jobs, Lewis was hired by the Washington Redskins and served as the team's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the 2002 season.
[edit] Head Coach
[edit] Cincinnati Bengals
Lewis became the ninth coach in Bengals history on January 14, 2003, when he was hired to replace Dick LeBeau, who was fired after the worst season in franchise history. In his four seasons (2003-present) with the team, Lewis has compiled a 35-29 regular season record.
Lewis beat both Tom Coughlin and Mike Mularkey for the position with the Bengals.[1] He had previously interviewed for head coaching positions with the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers but was never offered a job. Lewis had previously turned down head coaching opportunities with California and Michigan to continue pursuing his goal of becoming a head coach in the NFL.[2]
The Bengals finished 8-8 in each of their first two seasons under Lewis, recording a non-losing season for the first time in seven years. In 2005, Cincinnati recorded a 11-5 record, winning the AFC North division and making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Despite setting multiple franchise records in the regular season, however, the Bengals lost to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-17, in the wild card round.
The Bengals were plagued by off-the-field problems (nine players were arrested a total of 12 times during the year) throughout the 2006 season and once again finished with an 8-8 record, missing the playoffs.
[edit] Head Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CIN | 2003 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFC North | - | - | - | - |
| CIN | 2004 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in AFC North | - | - | - | - |
| CIN | 2005 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC North | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in Wild Card Round. |
| CIN | 2006 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFC North | - | - | - | - |
| Bengals' Total | 35 | 29 | 0 | .547 | 0 | 1 | .000 | - | ||
| Total | 35 | 29 | 0 | .547 | 0 | 1 | .000 | - | ||
[edit] Trivia
- When Mike Brown decided to hire Marvin Lewis, Brown had difficulty reaching him that day because Lewis had accidentally dropped his cell phone in the toilet.[1]
- He is the only NFL coach to have a team jersey for sale.
- Lewis is one of six black head coaches in the NFL, along with Romeo Crennel (Cleveland Browns), Tony Dungy (Indianapolis Colts), Herman Edwards (Kansas City Chiefs), Lovie Smith (Chicago Bears) and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers).
- Since August, 2002, Marvin Lewis has been affectionately referred to as "Black Jesus" by Bengals players and fans. The nickname garnered some national recognition after a January, 2005 ESPN The Magazine article in which Tom Friend referred to him as "Black Jesus". Lewis, however, has been quick to deflect any such praise.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dick LeBeau |
Cincinnati Bengals Head Coaches 2003–present |
Succeeded by Current coach |
| Preceded by Kurt Schottenheimer |
Washington Redskins Defensive Coordinators 2002 |
Succeeded by Greg Blache |
| Preceded by N/A |
Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinators 1996-2001 |
Succeeded by Mike Nolan |
| Cincinnati Bengals Head Coaches |
|---|
| Brown • Johnson • Rice • Gregg • Wyche • Shula • Coslet • LeBeau • Lewis |
| Current Head Coaches of the National Football League | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| American Football Conference | |||
| East | North | South | West |
| Jauron (Buffalo) | Billick (Baltimore) | Kubiak (Houston) | Shanahan (Denver) |
| Cameron (Miami) | Lewis (Cincinnati) | Dungy (Indianapolis) | Edwards (Kansas City) |
| Belichick (New England) | Crennel (Cleveland) | Del Rio (Jacksonville) | Kiffin (Oakland) |
| Mangini (NY Jets) | Tomlin (Pittsburgh) | Fisher (Tennessee) | Turner (San Diego) |
| National Football Conference | |||
| East | North | South | West |
| Phillips (Dallas) | Smith (Chicago) | Petrino (Atlanta) | Whisenhunt (Arizona) |
| Coughlin (NY Giants) | Marinelli (Detroit) | Fox (Carolina) | Linehan (St. Louis) |
| Reid (Philadelphia) | McCarthy (Green Bay) | Payton (New Orleans) | Nolan (San Francisco) |
| Gibbs (Washington) | Childress (Minnesota) | Gruden (Tampa Bay) | Holmgren (Seattle) |
Categories: 1958 births | Living people | Sportspeople from Pittsburgh | American football linebackers | New Mexico Lobos football coaches | Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches | Pittsburgh Steelers coaches | Baltimore Ravens coaches | Washington Redskins coaches | Idaho State Bengals football coaches | Idaho State Bengals football players
