| 04 January 2011
In a very surprising development from my point of view, ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that Marvin Lewis is expected to re-sign with the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach.
Nearly every NFL insider over the last month called Lewis a lame-duck coach and said there was hardly any chance he would return for his ninth season with the Bengals.
However, a few factors might have led to this impending reunion.
First, with the possibility of a lockout this summer -- while the NFL and the Players Association tries to work out a new collective bargaining agreement -- the Bengals didn't want to have a new coach that perhaps wouldn't have gotten a chance to coach his players on the field until camp opened in late July. If there is a lockout, there won't be any offseason OTAs, mini-camps or anything of the sort. So, Lewis would at least bring stability in a very unstable league right now. Although, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said recently that he fully expects there to be a CBA agreement hammered out in the very near future.
The other reason Lewis might be returning is that he actually got his way to some extent with the demands he made of owner Mike Brown. Lewis wants an indoor practice facility, more control over the roster and his coaching staff, and a beefed-up scouting department. The prevailing thought was that the notoriously-cheap Brown would say, "No, thanks, I'll continue doing things my way even though I've proven to be a train-wreck." However, maybe the old man actually told Lewis that he would meet some of his demands. I still find that hard to believe, but we should know a resolution later today.
Right now, the smart money is on Lewis staying, when just a few days ago it looked like his tenure in Cincinnati was over for sure.
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