Has Mike Brown Grown Tired Of Marvin Lewis?

With the NFL free agency period winding down and draft day approaching, the rumors are getting wild. As the days get longer and stories get harder to find, there’s always one crazy rumor that grabs the headlines. The Cincinnati Bengals have had a successful turnaround. The Bengals are winning, but is that enough? According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Mike Brown is tired of waiting for a Super Bowl appearance. Is he also tired of Marvin Lewis?

Delving into the mind of Mike Brown can be a dangerous feat. In fact, trying to figure out what any owner in the NFL is thinking can be tricky. The off-season is a magical time of speculation and rumor. Whispers of intolerance can go from zero to 60 in one second. One day, a player is washed up. The next morning, he’s the best thing since peanut butter and bananas on toast.

The Bengals have come a long way since the days of single wins in the “W” column. Head coach Marvin Lewis has been a major part of that development. Before his arrival, the Bengals suffered through years of painful losses and dreadful draft choices. Who could forget David Klingler, lofting a perfect spiral to Jeff Query? Every fan of the Bengals has purged that memory.

Surviving the Lost Decade was an art. Most Bengals fans decided to forgo having a lobotomy. But the gory memories of a mishandled franchise were hard to shake — until Lewis turned things around. The biggest flaw with the current Bengals situation is evident. Five consecutive trips to the postseason have turned up nothing. Seven trips have been unsuccessful. Per Pro Football Reference, Lewis owns the top spot for playoff losses without a win.

Having such a dubious record would be enough to get any coach fired. Brown has been patient with Lewis. In fact, he’s had 13 years of understanding, when it comes to his head coach. Lewis is one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL, without appearing in a Super Bowl or even getting a single playoff victory.

Before taking the reports of impatience to extremes, the bottom line has to be examined. The one thing Lewis has accomplished is winning (112-94-2). He’s been able to turn a losing culture into a perennial playoff machine. In the days prior to Lewis’ arrival, Brown produced a sub.500 product. The franchise was a dismal 52-124. Under the watchful eyes of founder Paul Brown, the Bengals played in two Super Bowls and went a more respectable 174-181-1.

Lewis has been the victim of bad calls and bad timing. In a candid moment, Mike Brown stated that other teams would gladly take the “problems” of the Bengals.

“A lot of teams, in my opinion, would take where we are to where they are.”

Brown understands that things happened in the final playoff game that were either out of control or caused by human error. He seemed to realize that the Bengals are on track to do much better. If not for the loss of Andy Dalton, he admits that they would have had a shot at going deeper into the postseason.

“We made a real run at it,” Brown recalls. “We seemed to be on track to keep on going when things happened in the final game. It was a good season. We didn’t win the Super Bowl. But I was very pleased with how our guys did overall.”

Lewis is entering the final year of his contract. That leads the skeptics to think Brown has lost patience with the man who has turned his franchise around. It’s typical for Brown to make last-minute contract extensions with Lewis. He acknowledges that there are always different circumstances between him and Lewis. But, the respect is still there.

“I commend Marvin’s achievements. He’s done remarkably well with our football team here, in recent years especially. I respect him. I like him personally. He’s going to be our coach this year. That’s in the bank. Where it goes, we’ll see how it plays out.”

An easy solution would be to go deeper into the playoffs.

Update: Per NFL Network, Marvin Lewis and the Bengals have agreed on a contract extension. The deal will take Lewis through the current season and the 2017 campaign.

[Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]