Marvin Lewis to Return to Bengals in 2011

Filed under: Bengals

Marvin Lewis will stay on as Cincinnati Bengals head coach after much speculation over his future with the team.

After a day of discussion with Bengals ownership, Lewis has signed a new two-year deal.

Lewis has been the Bengals coach for eight years, compiling a 60-67-1 record. He's led the team to the playoffs twice, including in 2009, when he was named Coach of the Year after the Bengals won the AFC North. The Bengals are 0-2 in those contests.

Coming off of that playoff appearance, the Bengals were expected to be competitive in defending their division title, with some prognosticators picking them as a Super Bowl contender. But the team struggled badly, going 4-12, including a 10-game losing streak in the middle of the season that took the team from 2-1 to 2-11.

Along the way, he appeared to lose his two biggest stars, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Owens criticized the Bengals' play-calling as well as the coaches and owner. He also called the team "terrible." Owens and Ochocinco were denied a late-season start, believed to be for disciplinary reasons. In Week 17, with both starting receivers injured, the Bengals played perhaps the best game of their season.

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