Marvin Lewis Keeps His Streak Of Playoff Losses Alive

The Bengals got unceremoniously flushed out of the playoffs earlier today, losing 26-10 to the Colts. If this sounds familiar, that's because it's happened for the fourth straight season. Cincinnati is performing an admirable exercise in underachievement.

The team had a couple of excuses today. Receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham couldn't play, which made quarterback Andy Dalton's life tougher, and linebacker Rey Maualuga left with a hamstring injury, hurting the defense. But with the loss, one person on the Bengals reached a historical milestone today: Marvin Lewis.

Lewis has coached the Bengals since 2003, with a total of six playoff appearances including today. He has not won any of those games. The man is 0-6. The only other coach with six losses and no wins is Jim Mora Sr.—you know, the one that screeched "Playoffs?!" that one time. Mora was fired one season after his sixth playoff loss. No other NFL coach has more than three playoff losses with zero wins.

This isn't a call for Lewis's firing, just an observation. The problem might also lie with Lewis's boss. The Bengals don't have an actual general manager; owner Mike Brown also serves as GM. If Brown has no time to evaluate what's wrong with the Bengals, maybe that would hint at, you know, hiring someone to do that. Or, he could evaluate and keep Lewis, a person he knows well, and hope something changes next season. If it doesn't, the cycle of mediocrity continues.

Photo: AP