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The news of Marvin Lewis reportedly stepping down as head coach of the Bengals at the end of the 2017 season hit hard.
Many Bengals fans had been waiting for the moment for years and were excited. Some fans were upset. Some former players had thoughts, too.
We’ve rounded up the best and most of-interest reactions to Lewis’ departure so you can read them all at once. Many fans are excited about the news, but let’s not forget all that Lewis has done for this team in his 15 years in Cincinnati. It’s fine to be excited, but let’s not forget the positive moments of Lewis’ career with the Bengals.
He’s the second longest tenured active coach in the NFL behind Bill Belichick of the Patriots and the longest-tenured coach in the Bengals’ 50 year history. It’s some sort of ironic misfortune that a losing season in the team’s 50th anniversary year would spell the end of Lewis’ time as the Bengals’ head coach.
For now, we don’t know what Lewis’ next move will be, but it surely will be interesting to see if he finds a new job in the NFL. Maybe he will be another team’s general manager. He surely has scouting talents, though his coaching ability has fallen off with his inability to get the Bengals over the hump.
As promised, here’s a roundup of social media reactions to Marvin Lewis’ decision to step away from the Bengals after the 2017 NFL season, starting with Chad Johnson, a former Bengals player who has made it known he LOVES Lewis.
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) December 17, 2017
Marvin Lewis will take a lot of flack for how this season has played out and that’s fair. But he helped dig Cincinnati out of the NFL’s embarrassing basement and guided them to the playoffs in 6 of 7 seasons. That matters.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 17, 2017
You can be as excited as you want about Marvin Lewis not returning to the Bengals, but what he and his foundation have done for the kids/students/athletes in Cincinnati has been incredible. THANK YOU, Marvin.
— Jolinda Lewis-Miller (@jolinda22) December 17, 2017
You will be missed.
For all the complaints you can have about Marvin Lewis, the Bengals have been consistently one of the better teams in the NFL past 7-8 years.
— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) December 17, 2017
Bengals caught off guard by news Marvin Lewis is not interested in returning to the team next year, as @AdamSchefter reported.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 17, 2017
We would like to thank Marvin Lewis for his participation as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. pic.twitter.com/x8kEn2L30f
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) December 17, 2017
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— Bruce Varney (@varneybe) December 17, 2017
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— Ray Sparks (@RaySparksjr) December 17, 2017
— Adam (@asinghoff99) December 17, 2017
Back in 2003, Marvin Lewis took over a Bengals team that had only 5 playoff wins in franchise history.
— Elite Andy Dalton (@EvilAndyDalton) December 17, 2017
In 2017, after 15 years, Marvin Lewis will leave a Bengals team that has only 5 playoff wins in franchise history.
The 1st season that Marvin Lewis coached the Bengals, Twitter didn't exist, Facebook was only in 50 colleges, Gmail wasn't a thing, Obama was over a year away from becoming a US Senator...
— Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13) December 17, 2017
...and LeBron James was the best small forward in the world.
Marvin Lewis getting fired is something I always expected but never actually thought would happen. No clue how to react
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 17, 2017
People forget just how bad the #Bengals were when Marvin Lewis took over.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 17, 2017
It had been 13 years since they made the playoffs, and they were 55-147 in that stretch.
— Brian (@GunnerFaithful) December 17, 2017
Sending my condolences to the fans of whatever team is stupid enough to hire Marvin Lewis next year
— John (@TheAustExpress) December 17, 2017
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Share your thoughts on Lewis’ reported departure in the comments!