Ex-Bengals HC Marvin Lewis Interviews for Jets Job After Adam Gase Firing

The New York Jets confirmed they interviewed Marvin Lewis for their head coaching vacancy.

Lewis spent 16 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before getting fired after the 2018 season. He compiled a 131-122-3 record with the franchise and guided Cincinnati to the playoffs on seven occasions.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted Lewis has also interviewed for the Houston Texans' and Detroit Lions' vacancies.

SNY's Ralph Vacchiano listed the coaches linked to New York so far prior to Lewis' interview:

By the time of his departure, Lewis' tenure with the Bengals had run its course. They reached the playoffs in 2015 with a career-best 12-4 regular-season mark and then failed to win more than seven games over any of the next three years.

Any team that hires him is unlikely to generate a ton of enthusiasm within its fanbase. He turned 62 in September, and his failure to get Cincinnati past the Wild Card Round was notable.

The Bengals' performance over the past two seasons has arguably burnished his resume, however. They've won six combined games, and All Bengals' Elise Jesse provided a peek into a dysfunctional organization under current head coach Zac Taylor.

Lewis didn't take the franchise to the heights it enjoyed in the 1980s, but he did bring a level of stability and consistency that was absent prior to his arrival. He deserves another shot to coach an NFL team. The Idaho State product spent last season as the co-defensive coordinator at Arizona State.

The Pennsylvania native was a defensive coordinator prior to coaching Cincinnati, and the Bengals were rarely considered an explosive offensive team. That's likely going to be a consideration for the Jets since they'll either be looking to get Sam Darnold's development back on track or building the offense around a new quarterback.

Cincinnati was fourth in points and sixth in yards in 2005, Carson Palmer's first year as a starter. Perhaps Lewis would've built an elite offense were it not for Palmer's knee injury in the 2005 playoffs. The Bengals never recaptured the magic from that season.

Still, Lewis showed what he could do with an elite quarterback. That's not a descriptor you'd use for Darnold now, but he might flourish like Ryan Tannehill now that Adam Gase is no longer calling the plays.