Marvin Lewis' two-year deal to remain as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals came as a surprise to most.
It was an abrupt turn of events following weeks of speculation and a sense of nonchalance on Lewis' behalf in regard to his future with the team with which he has spent the past 15 seasons.
The display of confidence from the team toward the longtime head coach comes on the heels of a second consecutive third-place finish in the AFC North (finishing ahead of only a Cleveland Browns team that went 1-31 in those two years), and a second straight season with nine losses. The two lost campaigns followed a run of five consecutive playoff berths, the longest stretch in franchise history.
In all, Lewis has guided the Bengals to seven playoff appearances and a 125-112-3 record in 240 regular-season games. The Bengals are rewarding the man who revamped the face of the organization, while turning a blind eye to his 0-7 record in the postseason and the team's most recent on-field results.
Instead, change will come through the rest of Lewis' coaching staff:
Marvin Lewis said longtime Bengals offfensive line coach Paul Alexander will not be back. Paul Guenther has an opportunity to interview with the Raiders, Darrin Simmons will return
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) January 3, 2018
Guenther is the Bengals' defensive coordinator, while Simmons is the special teams coordinator.
In a season in which two HCs will be coaching in the playoffs at the first time of asking with their respective teams this weekend, the Bengals are deploying a risk-adverse strategy by sticking with Lewis instead of trying something new with a younger, more experimental choice.
In the 15 years prior to Lewis' arrival, the Bengals went just 84-156, a record split by four head coaches. They won two divisional championships and made the playoffs twice, including the franchise's second trip to the Super Bowl in 1988.
While Lewis' playoff record brings about the proper amount of criticism, the franchise is just 5-14 in postseason play since its 1968 inception. They've made just two trips to the Super Bowl in that time, losing both by a combined nine points. In just one other season did they make it past the first round.
Therein lies Lewis' value to the Bengals and their fans. The team has opted to continue along a line of mediocrity with the coach who delivered the franchise from its darkest days, instead of risking to lose under somebody else.
"The grass isn't always greener," one Bengals fan said prior to Lewis' extension, according to Todd Dykes of WLWT5. "We may not get someone that's better, at least in the short term. So, we definitely need to be careful what we wish for."
