Would your rather Bengals hire an internal candidate or Hue Jackson as next head coach

With Marvin Lewis reportedly stepping down after the season is complete, the Bengals will be in the hunt for a new head coach. Though, Lewis has denied the reports, it still seems more likely than not that the reports are true.

Whoever becomes the head coach of the Bengals in 2018 will hopefully be a person who will shape the franchise in a positive way for many years to come. Early reports say there are at least three coaches who the front office will look at when the time comes.

Those coaches are defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons and former offensive coordinator and current Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson.

According to Jay Glazer, the Bengals are interested in Jackson and were hoping the Browns would be firing him at season’s end. As of now, the Browns continue to say Jackson will be back in Cleveland next year.

Let’s take a look at the three of these options, before asking you: who would you rather if these were the only three candidates.

Paul Guenther, Bengals defensive coordinator

It would make sense for the Bengals to look internally to resolve their head coaching search, simply based on the team’s past decisions when selecting head coaches.

With that said, Guenther may make the most sense for the Bengals’ head coaching job, should they pick someone on the current staff. Guenther has been with the Bengals since 2005, after coming to Cincinnati from Washington, where he was an assistant coach. His last head coaching experience was at Ursinus College, a division three school where he led the team to a 21-13 overall record over three seasons.

If the Bengals select Guenther as their next head coach, it could be a terrible decision, due to the offense really being the stumbling block for the Bengals this season. Under Guenther, the Bengals’ defense bends, but doesn’t break too often. Since 2014, the Bengals has never been in the top 10 in the league for yards, but has never fell out of the top 15 in points against, with a high of ranking second in 2015 when the Bengals went 12-4. Guenther has never really replaced matched the success of former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who had the Bengals ranked third in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed in his final season with Cincinnati before departing to be head coach of the Vikings.

Darrin Simmons

Simmons is a dark-horse in this battle, currently coaching the special teams unit in Cincinnati, as he has for the past 15 years under Lewis. Special Teams coordinators usually get passed on during head coach searches, with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh being the only former special teams coordinator to ascend to head coach. Simmons, however, was the choice to oversee practice earlier in the season when Marvin Lewis was dealing with a minor health issue. The Bengals’ front office loves familiarity and they are uber familiar with Simmons.

Simmons has coached many special teams units successfully, despite having many lackluster kickers during his tenure in Cincinnati. A big problem with him is that he’s coached so long under Lewis that naming him head coach likely wouldn’t change much of anything. Everything he knows, he learned from Lewis. The culture would remain as is and the coaching would be a less experienced version of Lewis.

Hue Jackson

The coach that got away, Jackson is also up for consideration as Glazer reports that the Bengals are interested in bringing Jackson back to Cincinnati. But, Jackson isn’t actually available as a choice as of now, as the Browns and owner Jimmy Haslam claim they’re bringing Jackson back in 2018.

Jackson has been terrible in Cleveland, winning one game in two seasons. The Browns’ failures haven’t been all his fault, but he’s of course been a major player in the Browns’ lack of success for the last two years. Why would the Bengals want to hire a coach who has failed so spectacularly within the division?

Jackson spent four seasons in Cincinnati before taking the head coaching gig in Cleveland. Jackson has never coached a team to a winning record as head coach. He’s 9-36 in three seasons as a head coach, and 1-28 in his rebuilding effort in Cleveland. His one season as a head coach outside of Cleveland was with the Oakland Raiders in 2011; he went 8-8 and was infamously fired.

Jackson was a great offensive coordinator for the Bengals and was as creative as it gets, in mostly all good ways. He helped Andy Dalton to his best season at quarterback and was a major part of the 12-4 effort in 2015. Players have overwhelmingly voiced their support for Jackson, but, all signs point back to his lackluster record as a head coach.

How can you hire a head coach or want to hire a head coach who has won ONE game in two seasons as head coach? That’s a thought to chew on.

So, what would you rather: the Bengals go with an internal option or for the team to somehow get Hue Jackson back in Cincinnati?