Marvin Lewis Mum On The Open Head Coaching Job At The University Of Pittsburgh

by Josh Kirkendall on Dec 8, 2010 4:18 PM EST in Rumors

EAST RUTHERFORD NJ - NOVEMBER 25: Head Coach Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals watches the game against the New York Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium on November 25 2010 in East Rutherford New Jersey. The Jets defeated the Bengals 26-10. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

When Pittsburgh's head coach Dave Wannstedt was let go after six years, many in the area quickly made the connection to Marvin Lewis as a viable candidate. Or usual suspects candidate at the very least. A Pittsburgh native, Lewis spent two years at the University of Pittsburgh as the team's linebacker coach just before joining the Steelers from 1992-1995 as the linebacker coach for the pro team.

So there's connections there. Then again, there's connections between Urban Meyer, the University of Cincinnati -- he was a Bearcats defensive back -- and the Ohio State Buckeyes. That doesn't mean he's going to be returning to the Buckeye State now that he's resigning from Florida.

Asked if he would be interested in the job during the Steelers teleconference on Wednesday, Lewis simply said, "Let's move on."

Lewis is largely expected to leave Cincinnati after a disappointing season, winning only two of the team's first 12 games on the season. Whether or not it's his choice is unknown. Lewis' contract is expiring after the season and Mike Brown could look for a change. Lewis, on the other hand, is known to have made some demands that ownership may not want to fulfill -- such as an indoor practice facility. In the end, it could just be a situation where everyone is happy going their separate ways.

Tweet Comment 15 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

You called it.

He’ll be Pitt’s head coach next year. Absolutely.

by ddbumpus on Dec 8, 2010 5:06 PM EST reply actions

Bronco's or Vikings are possibilities too

The Curse of Bo Jackson: Jan 13th,1991- present day

by TruWhoDey on Dec 8, 2010 5:44 PM EST reply actions

see ya!

Wahoo! No more mavin…. I love it! We may even get a straight answer or 2 at a press conference now! And if he goes to pittsburgh, even better. We enjoyed all the underachieving seasons, hate to see you go…haha! Don’t let the door hit u on the way out of the nfl!

by Oxailis on Dec 8, 2010 6:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Excellent

I too am looking forward to returning to the 1991-2002 Bengals glory days!

by Alex Marshall on Dec 8, 2010 7:54 PM EST up reply actions

We are 16 - 28 over the past 3 seasons...

MIKE BROWN STEP DOWN!!!

by D-Day77 on Dec 8, 2010 9:02 PM EST up reply actions

3 seasons seems to be a rather random sample when considering Marvin's contributions as a whole

by Alex Marshall on Dec 8, 2010 9:23 PM EST up reply actions

hi alex's chin - its me! marvs nuts

Well your chin and marvs nuts have fun with each other alex but ill be packing his stuff to get that man on his way to pittsburgh. Let’s bring in a brain, not someone that’s just gonna be everyones buddy. If you can’t win with this teams talent, then you can’t win. If your happy with this bs alex, then I suggest you also check out the pirates, clippers, and north korea. Screw you guys, I’m going home….

by Oxailis on Dec 8, 2010 11:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

2 winning seasons in 8, no playoff wins?

-The Cowboys fired Wade Phillips after 4 seasons with a 34-22 record going 1-2 in the playoffs, and just won a playoff game last year.

-Minnesota was 1 play away from a super bowl last year and they fired Brad Childress after 5 seasons going 39-35, 1-2 in the playoffs.

-The Broncos fired Josh McDaniels after 2 seasons with a 11-17 record.

-John Gruden had a 4 game losing streak, missed the playoffs, and Tampa fired him after making the playoffs the previous year. He had a 95-81 record, 5-4 in the playoffs, and a super bowl win in 7 seasons.

-Marty Schottenheimer got fired after a 14-2 season in San Diego because he couldn’t win a playoff game.

-Eric Mangini got fired from New York Jets after 3 seasons, 2 winning seasons and a 23-25 record.

-Atlanta fired Jim Mora after 3 seasons with a 26-22 record and a playoff win, and got fired in Seattle after a 5-11 season.

-Mike Martz was fired by the St. Louis Rams after 6 seasons going 53-32 in the regular season and 3-4 in the playoffs.

Need I go on?

-Marvin Lewis is 58-64-1 in 8 seasons and 0-2 in the playoffs. That is not success, that is mediocrity.

Our fan base has been brainwashed to believe that mediocrity is acceptable because the alternative is years of losing. Do you think that any other city besides Detroit would put up with what we put up with?

MIKE BROWN STEP DOWN!!!

by D-Day77 on Dec 9, 2010 1:57 AM EST up reply actions

And what I'm saying is

Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Don’t hate Marvin, hate Mike. Swapping Marvin for whoever the poor sap is that would take the HC job here is not going to improve this team, as proven by the number of coaches we had from 1991-2002. Lot’s of people in the Bengals organization would be fired if this were any other team. Marvin’s mediocrity is much preferable to the 1991-2002 bengals era because the alternative IS losing under Mike Brown. YOU are the one who’s brainwashed into believing that success is possible under Mike Brown.

by Alex Marshall on Dec 9, 2010 4:58 AM EST up reply actions

Have you read the signature at the bottom of my posts?

It’s been on there for a while… It has been on there before jumping on the Mike Brown bashing bandwagon was cool. I know what the problem is. I grew up in Cincinnati and have been a Bengals fan for 30 years. I have actually seen this team win.

So your point is that we might as well not discuss anything anymore on this site because everything is Mike Brown’s fault, and no matter what we do nothing will work with him as owner. No one underneath him can be held accountable for anything because Mike Brown is in charge, even though he is not down there on the sidelines making decisions during the game, calling the plays, and managing the clock. I guess you don’t think Bob Bratkowski should be held responsible either? No one can succeed under Mike Brown; don’t hate the player, hate the game remember?

Bashing Mike Brown and Bob Bratkowski is cool, but no one wants to say anything bad about Marvin Lewis’ poor game management, Zimmer’s piss poor defense, and Paul Alexander’s terrible O-Line play, Jay Hayes’ lack of pressure on the D-Line, or Darrin Simmons special teams’ underwhelming performance.

Don’t blame it on personnel, because this is Marvin’s team 100%. The only one left from LeBeau’s regime is Chad. Marvin used the excuse before that he didn’t have all of his own people on the team. And don’t blame it on injuries because everyone gets slammed with them.

Marvin Lewis said earlier this year “judge me by wins,” he hasn’t won since he made that statement.

MIKE BROWN STEP DOWN!!!

by D-Day77 on Dec 9, 2010 12:28 PM EST up reply actions

The loss of Marvin Lewis would be sad news and nothing to celebrate.

That’s my point.

So your point is that we might as well not discuss anything anymore on this site

Nope, discussion is a great outlet for our impotent rage.

because everything is Mike Brown’s fault, and no matter what we do nothing will work with him as owner.

Yup, pretty much. He is responsible for hiring, firing, or retaining everyone as well as the structure of every department. The buck stops there.

No one underneath him can be held accountable for anything because Mike Brown is in charge, even though he is not down there on the sidelines making decisions during the game, calling the plays, and managing the clock.

We can certainly hold them accountable, by calling them bad names and shaking our tiny fists at them from a far distance. There are no consequences for failure under Mike Brown as long as you’re loyal and don’t mind letting everyone down.

I guess you don’t think Bob Bratkowski should be held responsible either?

Is he responsible for our terrible offensive strategy? Definitely! Is he responsible for his complete job security? Nope.

No one can succeed under Mike Brown; don’t hate the player, hate the game remember?

Success is certainly possible to a degree, but it’s been made much more difficult under the limitations placed by Mike Brown.

Bashing Mike Brown and Bob Bratkowski is cool, but no one wants to say anything bad about Marvin Lewis’ poor game management, Zimmer’s piss poor defense, and Paul Alexander’s terrible O-Line play, Jay Hayes’ lack of pressure on the D-Line, or Darrin Simmons special teams’ underwhelming performance.

Those are all valid criticisms, but we know that all of those coaches have done much better in the past. What incentives do they have to do better now? Pay raises? nope. Better resources? nope. More control? nope. Job security? nope. Any change whatsoever? not fast enough to be effective.

Don’t blame it on personnel, because this is Marvin’s team 100%. The only one left from LeBeau’s regime is Chad. Marvin used the excuse before that he didn’t have all of his own people on the team. And don’t blame it on injuries because everyone gets slammed with them.

You think Marvin has had 100% control of drafting players, hiring free agents, and coaching personnel? I doubt it’s even 25%. Having injuries can’t really be helped, but the treatment of injuries can.

Marvin Lewis said earlier this year "judge me by wins," he hasn’t won since he made that statement.

That was pretty bold of him to say. Sounds like Carson when he says every loss is all his fault and just as ridiculous.

by Alex Marshall on Dec 9, 2010 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

Out of the NFL

is probably the best thing to happen to Marvin. Colleges can pay very well and he could probably get himself at least a 4 year deal worth millions. As for the NFL, he’d be lucky to get a defensive coordinators job. But I wish him well. He did more for Bengal fans than any coach in the last 20 years. Flawed and all, as we all are, he did alot of good things under an owner that doesn’t care all that much about winning and losing.

by BENGALS69 on Dec 8, 2010 6:46 PM EST reply actions