Marvin Lewis

[derekshank]

If the Bengals beat the Ravens on Thursday, Marvin will have the exact same record as Forrest Gregg had at 34-27. And in case you were wondering... that is the highest winning percentage of any coach in Bengals history at .557.

So... if the Bengals can win the next 2 games, he will have the highest winning % of any Bengals coach ever. Also, only Paul Brown and Sam Wyche will have more wins than him as a coach.

Just in case anyone wondered why "In Marvin We Trust" is a slogan around here.

[agreen_112]

Niiiice!

[walshfan]

thats all well and good except you forgot to mention that Forrest Gregg took the team to the super bowl.

Umtil Lewis does that Ill reserve the right to think who's the best coach in Bengal history.

[derekshank]

thats all well and good except you forgot to mention that Forrest Gregg took the team to the super bowl.

Umtil Lewis does that Ill reserve the right to think who's the best coach in Bengal history.

I never said Marvin was the best in Bengal history. I think frankly that Paul Brown is the best in Bengal history. He just had absolutely nothing to work with as an expansion team.

The point I was making is that Marvin Lewis deserves the trust that some of the fans give him, and very little of the grief that certain others give him. Having the highest winning % as a coach in team history after taking over a team that was 2-14 and had a losing mentality for well over a decade is quite an accomplishment. Certainly enough of an accomplishment to give the guy the benefit of the doubt when he makes a decision we don't understand.

In other words... detractors like to call those who say "In Marvin We Trust" blind homers. However, he's earned every ounce of trust he gets.

[Tasher]

Paul Brown wll ALWAYS be the BEST Coach in Bengals History, and one of the greatest ever. Hence his HOF status. Just like Holmgren did not displace Lombardi as the greatest ever in Green Bay.

Marvin still has a long way to go: 1. Perenial playoffs 2. Super Bowl 3.Win Super Bowl

That will put him ahead of Wyche and Gregg.

None of this is intended to supplant "In Marvin We Trust." He has earned that and more as our Coach and with his track record.

[bengalboomer7]

I don't know much about coahes winnign % and wouldn't know what's a good percentage and what isn't, but that might just show how bad our coahces have been, no the greatness of marvin

BTW, in Marin I trust

[Stripes]

Marv, you mah dude.

[jjakq27]

If they are able to finish above .500 this year, I'll bet that Marvin is the only one to have 4 seasons at .500 or better in a row. If anyone can check into it, I'd love to know.

[B24]

If they are able to finish above .500 this year, I'll bet that Marvin is the only one to have 4 seasons at .500 or better in a row. If anyone can check into it, I'd love to know.

Paul Brown had 4 seasons in a row at 0.500 or above.

1972 - 8-6

1973 - 10-4

1974 - 7-7

1975 - 11-3

[San Antonio Bengal]

If they are able to finish above .500 this year, I'll bet that Marvin is the only one to have 4 seasons at .500 or better in a row. If anyone can check into it, I'd love to know.

Paul Brown had 4 seasons in a row at 0.500 or above.

1972 - 8-6

1973 - 10-4

1974 - 7-7

1975 - 11-3

And then Bill Johnson followed up with winning records in '76 and '77..

1976 - 10-4

1977 - 8-6

Sam Wyche only put together three non-losing seasons in a row from '88 through '90

1988 - 12-4

1989 - 8-8

1990 - 9-7

[Tasher]

Just for the record...

BM (Before Marvin) we were miserable by EVERY measure. We especially could not beat any of our division rivals.

Even Kirwan on NFL.com is now noticing: The Bengals are now 10-2 in their last 12 division games.

I know we are on the brink this year for making the playoffs, but here is another accounting for why Marvin, in the DM (During Marvin) era, will get the "In Marvin We Trust" until further notice.

BTW, Marvin has been going back and forth with Gregg in all time winning percentage all season long. At the end of last year he was leading by a few percentage points.

[derekshank]

Even Kirwan on NFL.com is now noticing: The Bengals are now 10-2 in their last 12 division games.

Soon to be 11-2, and then 12-2... and then 144-2.

We could win the Super Bowl this year... and for the next 42 years without interruption. Da Bears!.... um, I mean... Who Dey?!!

[Stripes]

Even Kirwan on NFL.com is now noticing: The Bengals are now 10-2 in their last 12 division games.

Soon to be 11-2, and then 12-2... and then 144-2.

We could win the Super Bowl this year... and for the next 42 years without interruption. Da Bears!.... um, I mean... Who Dey?!!

No need to speak the obvious.

[BengalPimp]

Even Kirwan on NFL.com is now noticing: The Bengals are now 10-2 in their last 12 division games.

Soon to be 11-2, and then 12-2... and then 144-2.

We could win the Super Bowl this year... and for the next 42 years without interruption. Da Bears!.... um, I mean... Who Dey?!!

Are you Crazy? We Easily got the next 65 years or so.....oh, and by the way, when all is said and done,

Marvin will be the First coach ever, fitted for a SuperBowl ring for his Toe, as he only has 10 Fingers.

[jjakq27]

Even Kirwan on NFL.com is now noticing: The Bengals are now 10-2 in their last 12 division games.

Soon to be 11-2, and then 12-2... and then 144-2.

We could win the Super Bowl this year... and for the next 42 years without interruption. Da Bears!.... um, I mean... Who Dey?!!

Are you Crazy? We Easily got the next 65 years or so.....oh, and by the way, when all is said and done,

Marvin will be the First coach ever, fitted for a SuperBowl ring for his Toe, as he only has 10 Fingers.

By then he will be wearing body piercings that have the Super Bowl stone and engraving on it.

Seriously, if the Bengals do happen to make the playoffs, it will be the first time since the 1981 and 1982 seasons and only the second time in team history that the Bengals have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

[derekshank]

Seriously, if the Bengals do happen to make the playoffs, it will be the first time since the 1981 and 1982 seasons and only the second time in team history that the Bengals have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Depressing isn't it? Actually it's worse than you think. It is not just the first time since '81 and '82 that we've made the playoffs back to back... it will be the first time since then that we've posted back to back winning seasons! The closest we've come has been the years between '88 and '90 where we went 12-4, 8-8, and 9-7.

We've been through so much misery and so little success in our franchise history. I wonder why it is so easy to forget how far Marvin (with a little help from Carson) has brought us?

[AMC]

Seriously, if the Bengals do happen to make the playoffs, it will be the first time since the 1981 and 1982 seasons and only the second time in team history that the Bengals have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Depressing isn't it? Actually it's worse than you think. It is not just the first time since '81 and '82 that we've made the playoffs back to back... it will be the first time since then that we've posted back to back winning seasons! The closest we've come has been the years between '88 and '90 where we went 12-4, 8-8, and 9-7.

We've been through so much misery and so little success in our franchise history. I wonder why it is so easy to forget how far Marvin (with a little help from Carson) has brought us?

So true.....

[Spor_tees]

Saying Marvin is one of the best coaches in Bengals history is like saying someone is one of the smartest kids in the Special Ed class. Especialy when you consider guys like Lebeau and Schula who stuck around for so many seasons recently to compare him to. A .557 winning percentage? Try this tid bit I found...

Dungy has a .653 winning percentage in the regular season

And you can't really knock Wyche for not having very many winning seasons in a row because he was the coach at the time all this free agency in the NFL took off. And as most of us know, the Bengals didn't believe in it and lost quite a few of their top notch players including most of their O-line. If the Bengals would have dared to stick their toes into free agency back then, they just may have been a dynasty...and add to the fact the unfortunate injury of Icky Woods.

It's going to take more than a first round play-off loss before I will put Marvin Lewis in the same level as Gregg, Wyche, and Paul Brown as a coach.

[HoosierCat]

Seriously, if the Bengals do happen to make the playoffs, it will be the first time since the 1981 and 1982 seasons and only the second time in team history that the Bengals have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Depressing isn't it? Actually it's worse than you think. It is not just the first time since '81 and '82 that we've made the playoffs back to back... it will be the first time since then that we've posted back to back winning seasons! The closest we've come has been the years between '88 and '90 where we went 12-4, 8-8, and 9-7.

We've been through so much misery and so little success in our franchise history. I wonder why it is so easy to forget how far Marvin (with a little help from Carson) has brought us?

Well, who really wants to remember, eh?

Looking back over the team's finishes, tho, it occured to me that one reason Marvin has been able to succeed which I haven't seen mentioned was the 2002 realignment.

The Bengals enjoyed what I would say was their fair portion of success, if not Super Bowl rings, in the 1970s and '80s, as part of the old, four-team AFC Central. Bengals, Browns, Steelers and Oilers. The team then promptly fell apart in the first half of the 1990s, and by the middle of the decade, when it looked like they might finally recover, the NFL suddenly started adding teams to the AFCC. By 1999, with the return of the Browns, The AFCC was a six-team scrum, virtually a league-within-a-league.

With so many division games, it was difficult for any one team to get a leg up. In 1999, 4 of the 6 finished .500 or under; ditto in 2001. In 2003 there were three above-.500 teams, 3 below. Even with a five-team division (of which there were four for quite some time), there's always one or more bottom feeders in each division.

But the new four-team alignment of the past few years, like the four-team division on the '70s and '80s, seems to me a lot more friendly. Imagine how the Marvin Era might be going if we still had the old AFCC of Tennessee and Jacksonville the last few years.

[San Antonio Bengal]

Looking back over the team's finishes, tho, it occured to me that one reason Marvin has been able to succeed which I haven't seen mentioned was the 2002 realignment.

The Bengals enjoyed what I would say was their fair portion of success, if not Super Bowl rings, in the 1970s and '80s, as part of the old, four-team AFC Central. Bengals, Browns, Steelers and Oilers. The team then promptly fell apart in the first half of the 1990s, and by the middle of the decade, when it looked like they might finally recover, the NFL suddenly started adding teams to the AFCC. By 1999, with the return of the Browns, The AFCC was a six-team scrum, virtually a league-within-a-league.

With so many division games, it was difficult for any one team to get a leg up. In 1999, 4 of the 6 finished .500 or under; ditto in 2001. In 2003 there were three above-.500 teams, 3 below. Even with a five-team division (of which there were four for quite some time), there's always one or more bottom feeders in each division.

But the new four-team alignment of the past few years, like the four-team division on the '70s and '80s, seems to me a lot more friendly. Imagine how the Marvin Era might be going if we still had the old AFCC of Tennessee and Jacksonville the last few years.

Cutting two teams out of the division helped somewhat, but the power of a division ebbs and flows over the years. I don't believe there were enough years with a 6 team AFCC to really see any of that process. Even if there were still 6 teams, I think that the Bengals would still be near the top while Cleveland and Tennessee would be the bottom feeders. Regardless, what I really like about realignment is the sane scheduling. Some years will be easier and some will be harder, but at least the rest of your division opponents have all but two games in common.

[derekshank]

Saying Marvin is one of the best coaches in Bengals history is like saying someone is one of the smartest kids in the Special Ed class. Especialy when you consider guys like Lebeau and Schula who stuck around for so many seasons recently to compare him to. A .557 winning percentage? Try this tid bit I found...

Dungy has a .653 winning percentage in the regular season

It clearly is not incredibly difficult to look like a good coach compared to some of the coaches in our history... but let's not forget the situation Marvin came into. He had to completely change the culture here. He inherited a 2-14 team that hadn't had a winning season in nearly 15 years.

Dungy inherited the Buccaneers... and while it was hardly a storied franchise, they were 7-9 the year before he got there. A far cry from the 2-14 Bengals that Marvin so quickly turned around. Dungy was then fired from Tampa for not being able to get the job done in the playoffs, and he inherited a Colts team that had one of the best offenses in the NFL, and had been in the playoffs just one year prior... and he still has yet to get his team into a single Super Bowl, even after all these years.

So yeah... Dungy's regular season record is better than Marvin's. But who has the more impressive resume? The answer seems obvious to me.

[HoosierCat]

Regardless, what I really like about realignment is the sane scheduling. Some years will be easier and some will be harder, but at least the rest of your division opponents have all but two games in common.

Exactly -- it's far more balanced now. And those two "uncommon" games are against clubs that finished on your level the previous year. It isn't by any means the only factor in Marvin's success, but IMHO it certainly hasn't hurt.

[jjakq27]

..... the 2-14 Bengals that Marvin so quickly turned around.

Not to dwell on a bad subject but thank goodness for the Houston Texans and realignment in 2002. We were that close to going 0-16 that year.

Out first win was against the expansion Texans where I think Chad "went out on a limb" and stated that the Bengals would not lose the game. The second win was a game against the Saints at PBS in which Nicholas (Nick Williams) Luchey had to play because of injury at RB and the Saints could not and would not tackle him. Aaron Brooks imploded and the Bengals pulled one out. The Saints ended up 9-7 that year and I am still not sure how we won. So that's how truly bad 2-14 was that year.

Look at Brian Billick. He was considered an offensive wizard in Minnesota with Randall Cunningham and Randy Moss. He goes to the Ravens and has had minimal success on offense but won a Super Bowl because of a great defense. They continue to succeed because of that defense. He is sort of the opposite of Dungy.

Just remember the difference between 10-6 and 6-10 is four games.

[Spor_tees]

Saying Marvin is one of the best coaches in Bengals history is like saying someone is one of the smartest kids in the Special Ed class. Especialy when you consider guys like Lebeau and Schula who stuck around for so many seasons recently to compare him to. A .557 winning percentage? Try this tid bit I found...

Dungy has a .653 winning percentage in the regular season

It clearly is not incredibly difficult to look like a good coach compared to some of the coaches in our history... but let's not forget the situation Marvin came into. He had to completely change the culture here. He inherited a 2-14 team that hadn't had a winning season in nearly 15 years.

Dungy inherited the Buccaneers... and while it was hardly a storied franchise, they were 7-9 the year before he got there. A far cry from the 2-14 Bengals that Marvin so quickly turned around. Dungy was then fired from Tampa for not being able to get the job done in the playoffs, and he inherited a Colts team that had one of the best offenses in the NFL, and had been in the playoffs just one year prior... and he still has yet to get his team into a single Super Bowl, even after all these years.

So yeah... Dungy's regular season record is better than Marvin's. But who has the more impressive resume? The answer seems obvious to me.

Marvin Lewis also came into a situation where Mike Brown decided to not only change the coach but the approach of the franchise at the same time. He decided to build better work out facilities, spend more on coaches and scouting, and spend more on free agents. Add all this to the fact the Bengals had just moved into a new stadium...Seems like the building blocks were put in place for Marvin to succeed, unlike some of his predecessors.

[derekshank]

Marvin Lewis also came into a situation where Mike Brown decided to not only change the coach but the approach of the franchise at the same time. He decided to build better work out facilities, spend more on coaches and scouting, and spend more on free agents. Add all this to the fact the Bengals had just moved into a new stadium...Seems like the building blocks were put in place for Marvin to succeed, unlike some of his predecessors.

Well, that may be true... but it is because he demanded it. So you can't take that away from his success.