Approval Poll: Bengals fire Marvin Lewis and may hire Darrin Simmons

It finally happened. The Bengals have parted ways with Marvin Lewis. That was not a typo.

Even though Mike Brown seemed to have faulty loyalty to Lewis, many were ready to see him go. 16 years at the helm without a single playoff win and three-straight losing seasons to top it off was enough to wear out his welcome.

He did nothing in 2018 to give us confidence in his ability to coach the Bengals. He did start off the season 4-1 and broke into the top 10 in many power rankings, but then lost nine of the final 11 games of the season.

At the onset of the losing streak, he fired Teryl Austin, the defensive coordinator that he had brought in earlier that season. By the end of the season, the Bengals’ finished as the worst defense in the NFL this year by many statistical markers and one of the worst in franchise history, despite showing legitimate improvements under Lewis’ direction as de facto defensive coordinator.

Though many fans have been calling for his job for years, there are those that still believe that he is still a good coach. After all, he did elevate the “Bungles” from their losing state to a perennial playoff contender and end a 16-year tenure with a winning record.

While we are grateful for everything Lewis did to take the Bengals from losing seasons to five straight playoff appearances, most fans agreed that it was past time for the Bengals to move on.

Did the Bengals make the right decision in finally letting Marvin Lewis go? Should the Bengals have kept him around for another year?

Say what you want about Lewis, but he did a lot of good things with the Bengals after a successful career as a defensive coordinator with Washington and Baltimore. He came to Cincinnati with a lot of hype and fanfare, something that wouldn’t be the case if Darrin Simmons is his replacement.

In case you missed it, Simmons is reportedly a strong candidate to be the Bengals’ next coach. You know Brown would love nothing more than to make a cheap in-house hire, and Simmons would likely be just that if he were hired.

There’s virtually no demand around the league for Simmons, who has had a successful career as a special teams coordinator, but his units have struggled in recent years.

So, how would you feel about the possible hire of Darrin Simmons as the Bengals’ next head coach?