I wanted to bring up something that hasn't received a lot of attention lately, mainly due to the draft and the Free Agent visits.  Atleast not as much attention as I would like to see, personally.  Marvin Lewis (career record 46-49-1 in the Regular season), the NFL Coach of the Year in 2009, is in the last year of his contract with the Bengals. Mike Brown has offered Marvin a contract extension on two separate occasions, according to Marvin.  Marvin has rejected the offers each time.  It is widely believed the reason they have yet to come to an agreement on an extension, is because of an internal power struggle between the two.  Marvin was qouted as saying,  "There were things that when I started this job in 2003 that were important to me; we can't change those. They have to stay on track and I have to make sure we're continuing to progress that way and those are the things as important to me as anything.", at the NFL Scouting Combine in February 2010.  It appears that Marvin is indicating he would like more control over personnel decisions, or for Mike Brown to hire a traditional General Manager.

What does all this mean for the future of the Head Coacing position of the Cincinnati Bengals? If Marvin doesn't sign an extension Mike Zimmer would likely get the Head Coaching position.  Personally, I would like to see Marvin Lewis as the Head Coach for a couple more years.  After that time, I would like to see Marvin move to the Front Office, as a General Manager or Vice President of Football operations, and Mike Zimmer become the Head Coach.  Could this be what Marvin is wanting now?   Mike Zimmer and Marvin Lewis work extremely well together and this would be the perfect situation moving forward for this franchise.   Mike Brown is getting older and hopefully he will want to make sure the Franchise is as stable as possible before his daughter, Katie Blackburn, takes over as the Owner.  Bengals fans can only hope.  Will Marvin sign and extension during the upcoming football season?  Does he sign an extension even if the Bengals have a disapointing season?  Does Mike Brown stick to his stubborn views and not give in to Marvin?  As Bengals fans what would you like to see with the Head Coach position for now and into the future?  This should be an interesting debate and I want to know what all the other Bengals fans think of this situation.  Would you like to see Marvin in the Front Office after a few more years as Head Coach?  We are in a great spot as a Franchise and this decision could be the most important decision of all this offseason.