MOBILE, Ala., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The Cincinnati Bengals, who have not made the playoffs since 1990 and are an abysmal 19-61 over the last five seasons, Tuesday named Marvin Lewis as their coach.
Bengals general manager Mike Brown made the announcement at the site of this weekend's Senior Bowl after a two-week process in which he interviewed Lewis, former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.
Lewis, who was the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins this past season, will remain here through the end of the week before traveling to Cincinnati for a news conference.
Best known for being the defensive coordinator of the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, Lewis becomes the eighth black coach in NFL history. The only current black coaches in the league are Herman Edwards of the New York Jets and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. Both led their teams to playoff berths.
The wait for a coaching job was especially painful for Lewis, who was a hot commodity after the Ravens set an NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season with 165 in 2000. But after the Ravens won the Super Bowl, there was only one coaching vacancy left in Buffalo and Gregg Williams got that job over Lewis and John Fox.
Last year, the 44-year-old Lewis lost out to Fox for the Carolina Panthers' job, but appeared to be on the brink of becoming the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, owner Malcolm Glazer decided not to accept general manager Rich McKay's recommendation of Lewis and instead lured Jon Gruden from the Oakland Raiders.
Despite not getting the opportunity to run his own team, Lewis left the Ravens to become the defensive coordinator for Steve Spurrier with Washington. Adjusting to Lewis' complex scheme was difficult for the Redskins, who allowed an average of 26.9 points in their first seven games and 19.7 points in their last nine. However, they ranked fifth overall in yards allowed.
Lewis was offered the coaching job at Michigan State last month, but held out hope for an NFL job and his patience paid off.
In Cincinnati, he inherits a defense that yielded a league-high 456 points, or 28.5 per game. But the Bengals appear to have a nucleus to build around with defensive end Justin Smith and linebackers Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons, although Spikes is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
The Bengals fired coach Dick LeBeau on Dec. 30 after finishing a franchise-worst 2-14 campaign. They own the first pick in the April draft.
Lewis should be familiar with the failings of Bengals after serving six years as defensive coordinator of the Ravens (1996-2001) and four years as linebackers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-95). Both are in the same division as the Bengals.
Lewis' 2000 defense with the Ravens is regarded as one of the best of all time with a league-high four shutouts. It also finished first in rushing yards allowed (970), takeaways (49) and fumble recoveries (26). The defense held opponents scoreless in 41 of 64 quarters and allowed one TD or fewer in 14 of the team's last 18 games.
Lewis' 2001 unit also led the Ravens to the league's second-fewest points allowed and finished in the top-four in six other categories.
