Marvin Lewis Reportedly Faced 'Near Mutiny' Before Firing Bengals OC Ken Zampese

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported Friday that Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis faced a "near mutiny" before he fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese.

Florio noted several players had "pointed things to say privately" after the Bengals failed to score a touchdown in each of their first two games of the season.

On the heels of losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, Lewis replaced Zampese with quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor and said the following in a statement, per ESPN.com's Katherine Terrell:

"Ken Zampese has done a tremendous job for us for my 15 years here, and I have the utmost respect for Ken as a person and as a coach. But I feel it best for the football team to breathe new life into the offense, and that's why I am making the change."

Wide receiver A.J. Green had just five catches for 67 yards in the Bengals' 13-9 loss to the Texans on Thursday, and he didn't seem to endorse the way the offense was being run: "I don't control the play-calling. I just go out there and run the play."

Zampese replaced Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator prior to last season, after Jackson was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

The Bengals went from seventh in points scored to 24th, and their production has plummeted even more through the first two games of 2017.

Before last season, Cincinnati had reached the playoffs in five consecutive campaigns. With Lewis' job potentially hanging in the balance—in 14 years, including seven playoff appearances, he has never led the team to a postseason win—he made a move in hopes of sparking his stagnant offense.