Marvin Ronald Lewis

Marvin Ronald Lewis was born in McDonald, Pennsylvania, a small town about twenty miles west of Pittsburgh. He started playing football at the age of 9 and played safety and quarterback for his team at Fort Cherry High School. He was on the wrestling team and played baseball in the summers.

He initially decided to walk on as a football player at Purdue University, but subsequently received a scholarship to attend Idaho State University. He primarily played linebacker. In 2001, he was inducted into Idaho State University’s Sports Hall of Fame. He was named Idaho State Alumni of the Year for 2012. Lewis received both his bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Idaho State. Marvin Lewis is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 to 2001, whose defense in 2000 set the record for the fewest points allowed in a 16-game season and led the franchise to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXV. This success resulted in Lewis being named the Bengals’ head coach, where he served from 2003 to 2018. He was also a commentator for the Alliance of American Football (AAF).

Lewis’ head coaching tenure oversaw improved fortunes for the struggling Bengals and helped transform the team into postseason contenders. At the time of his hiring, the Bengals had not had a winning season or postseason appearance since 1990 and finished with a franchise-worst 2–14 record. Within his third season, Lewis ended both droughts and led the Bengals to their first AFC North division title in fifteen years. Lewis subsequently guided the Bengals to seven playoff appearances and four division titles, along with a franchise-best five consecutive postseason appearances from 2011 to 2015. He holds the franchise record for head coaching wins at 131 and was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2009, the first Bengals coach since team founder Paul Brown in 1970 to receive the honor.]

While credited with returning the Bengals to respectability, Lewis’ reputation was affected by a lack of postseason success and he was ultimately unable to lead the team to a playoff win. His 131 regular season victories, 16 years as a head coach, and seven postseason losses are the most of NFL head coaches who have not won a playoff game.