Bengals fire Jim Haslett, per report

The Bengals’ purge of the Marvin Lewis regime continues with a third reported coach being let go.

According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, linebackers coach Jim Haslett is the latest coach to get a pink slip, joining running backs coach Kyle Caskey and tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes.

While Hayes and Caskey had strong cases to remain on staff, cutting Haslett was as easy of a call as Cincinnati had other than to fire Lewis. The linebacking group has been simply horrific over the last two years.

While injuries were a big factor, the decline of Vontaze Burfict and the failure to develop guys like Jordan Evans, Hardy Nickerson, Brandon Bell and Malik Jefferson was a major red flag for Haslett.

The Bengals have also had a pair of quality free agent signings — Kevin Minter and Preston Brown — have arguably the worst years of their careers in Cincinnati under Haslett’s watch.