The latest on Marvin Lewis

Marvin Lewis is probably going to be back with the Bengals, but the final decision may not happen until later this week.

According to Ian Rapoport, Lewis and owner Mike Brown will likely meet on Tuesday to decide what the future holds.

Unlike last year, there is no expectation owner Mike Brown will move on from coach Marvin Lewis. But that could change during a meeting between the two parties, which is likely to take place Tuesday. Lewis could also retire. The thought process when Lewis re-upped after 2017 was that it would be a two-year agreement (even if it’s merely a one-year contract with a team option).

Brown and Lewis will meet, discuss the plan to move forward, and then decide if they want to move forward together. Though it’s unclear what it indicates, staff members were given itineraries for Monday and Tuesday during a staff meeting that included Brown this week, colleague Tom Pelissero reports. Final word on if they all return comes next week.

It’s become common knowledge that Lewis is going to decide if he stays or goes. He may decide to retire, but at this point, we should all expect him to be head coach of the Bengals when the 2019 season begins. There’s always a chance he decides to retire after 16-straight years of coaching, and there may even be a succession plan to make Hue Jackson the head coach if Lewis leaves.

But again, expect Lewis to be back until he says otherwise. What’s going to be an even bigger gut punch is if the majority of the staff is brought back and Vance Joseph is hired as the defensive coordinator.

Oh well.