Today is known as Black Monday in the NFL as many coaches find out that they will not be returning next season. However, there has still not been any kind of formal announcement on whether or not Marvin Lewis will be returning as head coach for the Bengals in 2011. Marvin Lewis is technically unemployed at this point, since his contract has expired and he's already been gaining interest from other teams. The 49ers have reportedly already been planning on interviewing Lewis for the gig if he's not back with the Bengals next season. The University of Pittsburgh has also shown their interest in wanting Marvin Lewis.
The sign that there's still no decision on Lewis' status thus far should indicate that Mike Brown and Lewis are in negotiation still, Geoff Hobson reports. After the end of the season meeting that the players had as they do at the end of every season, players still didn't seem to know if Lewis was going to be back or not. Safety Chris Crocker is uncertain, but thinks that Marvin does want to be back.
"I think he wants to be back and I think everyone wants him back," Crocker said. "But the decision has to be between him and ownership. You know one thing: When you lose and you don't have a good season, then there are going to be changes. You don't know what's going to change. We're just ready to find out and go forward." Crocker has also looked back and knows that they've lost 12 games, but it's been a close 12 games. "We were in a lot of those games," he said. He's right, of the games the Bengals have lost, eight of those games have been decided by eight points or less. And in the Bills game the Bengals had a 31-14 lead going into the half.
Should-have-been-in-the-pro-bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth doesn't know what's going to happen.
"You never know what coaching stuff will change and what can't; that's the nature of this business," Whitworth said. "For players, to realize, who knows, the next time you could see these guys is Aug. 1? You just don't know with all the things going on and the possibility of a lockout, you don't know what could happen."
Whitworth does agree with Marvin Lewis that an indoor practice facility will be necessary as it's looking more and more likely that an 18-game season will be a part of the new CBA, not even mentioning that the Bengals are in a cold weather season and have had to go to other places to work out when snow hits hard in Cincinnati.
"That's just common sense," Whitworth said. "If we're playing games in late January then it's going to be physically impossible to practice effectively if you don't have somewhere to go inside." Marvin's been advocating an indoor practice facility for a while now and the likelihood of an 18-game season should help give him more leverage.
So will it be a Black Tuesday for Marvin Lewis tomorrow? The decision should be announced on Tuesday on if Marvin Lewis will be back with the Bengals in 2011.
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