Lewis brought on a new defensive coordinator for 2008 in Mike Zimmer, and eight-year NFL veteran in the coordinator role. But Lewis did not call for a major personnel shakeup on a roster which still has many key players from the club’s 2005 success. Instead, he is focusing on a new attitude and commitment from the entire organization.
“Some things have to change,” he says. “It’s a new season in ’08, and we need to start fresh. There have to be revisions to things we do, and everyone needs to understand that there has to be that urgency.”
Despite missing the playoffs the last two seasons, the Bengals, under Lewis, have become nationally recognized as a team with marquee performers and dangerous potential. On the local level, the excitement generated by the team has been demonstrated by an active streak of 36 consecutive sellouts (regular season and postseason), plus an ever-lengthening streak of dominance in Cincinnati television ratings.
The ’07 Bengals were assured of a sold-out regular season before the first kickoff, and they averaged 65,790 attendance for the eight regular-season games at Paul Brown Stadium. Due to demand, the team has established a season-ticket waiting list.
As for fans watching at home, in the last 53 TV ratings weeks which have included a Bengals regular season or postseason game, the Bengals have been the top-rated show among all programming in Cincinnati. That streak began in 2004, Lewis’ second season.
Lewis was named Bengals head coach on Jan. 14, 2003, becoming at the time the eighth African-American to be named to an NFL head coaching position. In recognition of the 8-8 Bengals being the NFL’s most improved team in 2003, Lewis finished second behind Bill Belichick of New England in Associated Press voting for NFL Coach of the Year.
In addition to bringing the football team more confidence and unity, Lewis has reached out to strengthen the franchise’s ties to the community, making more than 280 appearances in his first five years while also encouraging players to become engaged. In 2003, he launched the highly successful Marvin Lewis Community Fund (MLCF). The Fund has donated more than $3 million for support of its own programs, seven annual recipient organizations and more than 80 other proven regional non-profit organizations. The Community Fund has five signature programs that seek to empower, educate and inspire young people in the region, and it has directly impacted an estimated 215,000 individuals since its inception. In 2007, the MLCF was able to invest 88 cents of every dollar raised back into the community.
A partial list of organizations Coach Lewis and the MLCF have supported includes the Cincinnati Public Schools, Youth Inc., Minorities in Mathematics and Science, SUCCESS by 6, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Crusin’ for a Cure, Autism Society, Boys Hope Girls Hope, the Cincinnati Public Library, FreeStore/FoodBank, Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, the NAACP, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, ProScan Pink Ribbon Center, Children’s Home of Cincinnati, National Football Foundation, Project Connect, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
In 2003, when Lewis was hired as the ninth head coach in Bengals history, he brought credentials as a record-setting NFL defensive coordinator with a Super Bowl championship ring.
In 2002, the season before he joined the Bengals, Lewis led the Washington Redskins to a No. 5 NFL defensive ranking, serving as assistant head coach as well as defensive coordinator. He came to the Redskins after six seasons (1996-2001) as defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, a tenure that included a Super Bowl victory in the 2000 season.
In the 2000 regular season, Lewis’ Baltimore defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game campaign (165), clipping 22 points off the previous mark. The unit is a regular entry in discussions regarding the best NFL defenses of all time.
Lewis had his first NFL assignment from 1992-95, as linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. At Pittsburgh, he guided the careers of Pro Bowl selections Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland and Greg Lloyd. The opportunity came after 11 years in college coaching.
Lewis began his coaching career as linebackers coach at his alma mater, Idaho State, from 1981-84. ISU’s team, also nicknamed the Bengals, finished 12-1 during Lewis’ first season and won the NCAA Division 1-AA championship. In 1985-86, Lewis was linebackers coach at Long Beach State, and he held the same post at New Mexico from ’87-89. In 1990, he accepted a position coaching outside linebackers at the University of Pittsburgh, and he joined the Steelers and the NFL after two seasons at Pitt.
Lewis played LB at Idaho State, earning All-Big Sky Conference honors for three consecutive years (1978-80). He also saw action at quarterback and free safety during his college career. He received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Idaho State in 1981, and earned his master’s in athletic administration in ’82. He was inducted into Idaho State’s Hall of Fame in 2001.
Born Sept. 23, 1958, Lewis attended Fort Cherry High School in McDonald, Pa. (near Pittsburgh), where he was an all-conference quarterback and safety. He also earned high school letters in wrestling and baseball. He and his wife, Peggy, have a daughter, Whitney, and a son, Marcus.
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