Marvin Lewis Keeps Pressing His Thumb Down On Jeremy Hill

One acronym commonly used for the NFL, especially amongst players, is the "No Fun League". Usually the connotation pertains to the Commissioner's office and/or the referee crews that are on the field every week. Gone are the elaborate touchdown celebrations with multiple people and even props. Taunting and other gestures are also disallowed in today's NFL, clamping down on the behavior of even the most exuberant of the league's players.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, known for his somewhat conservative approach to coaching and his very few slips of the tongue that put him in hot water, often preaches the tight-collar approach to some of his players who appear to display a little too much excitement. Chad Ochocinco, the late Chris Henry and others have all had a good tongue-lashing from Cincinnati's head coach.

The latest project in this line of Lewis straightening up is rookie running back, Jeremy Hill. Even though the former LSU Tiger will be in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors with his on-field numbers, Lewis wants some of the extracurricular activities to be toned down. Initially, Lewis' ire was drawn from Hill's comments about the talent level of the Cleveland Browns after the Bengals were embarrassed by them on Thursday Night Football.

Now, according to FOX 19 in Cincinnati, Lewis has other topics to address with his rookie back.

Marvin on Jeremy Hill: He's a work in progress. Sometimes says too much. We've talked to him about that. His passion on the field is great.

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) December 18, 2014

Asked Marvin about Jeremy Hill's celebrations: I love it. Just celebrate quicker and get back to sidelines. #Bengals via @FOX19Jeremy

— FOX19 (@FOX19) December 18, 2014

If it sounds familiar, it should. These are the exact type of things that Lewis used to fume at with Ochocinco and Henry, preaching the "act-like-you've-been-there-before" mantra. In his 12-year run as the Bengals head coach, Lewis isn't giving up his old way of attempting to reign in players that he perceives as potential loose cannons.

This could be a divisive approach to those who read this. Some will say that Lewis' comments are pretty harmless in their overall tone, and it's best always present professionalism in a professional-level sport. Those same folks may point to the fact that Hill is still young (just turned 22 years old) and he did have a little bit of a track record off of the field issues while in college. It's possible that Lewis is looking after Hill to avoid some of the issues that plagued some Bengals players in the mid-2000s, even if that is taking it to the extreme. Hill was particularly animated in his two touchdown celebrations on Sunday against Cleveland, including one where he was repeatedly shoved in the head by a Browns fan after jumping into the stands. It's those type of things that Lewis is undoubtedly pointing at.

Others who see this will likely harp on the fact that professional football isn't like most other careers and that these guys need to have fun. In what could be a stretch again, these same people might look at the team's performances in big games where they appear to play "tight", and tell the coach to let these guys have fun.

Either way you view it, Lewis is who he is and this type of thing probably won't subside as long as he is coaching. Hill is just his latest target in this regard.