Detroit Lions: What to know about every head coach candidate interviewed

Marvin Lewis

Position: Arizona St Co-Defensive Coordinator/Former Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach
Scheme: Indifferent

What to Like

Marvin Lewis would be a safe hire. He was with the Bengals for 16 seasons, going 131-122-3 as a total record: seven winning seasons, six losing seasons, and the rest at .500.

One thing is for sure, when given the talent, he will take them to the playoffs. The issue is that Lewis is 0-7 in playoff games. However, Stafford (if the team sticks with Stafford) would be the best quarterback he’s had, so maybe that could get him over the hump.

Another thing to keep in mind, he’ll put a lot of trust into his coordinators. I’d expect him to hire experienced coordinators and work with them to figure out the right schemes to run. So, it wouldn’t be a scheme-specific team as Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn originally envisioned.

What not to Like

Lewis is on the older side, standing at age 62. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but the trend is moving towards younger coaches. It also took him eight years to build a consistent winner in Cincinnati.

Five seasons back to back (2011-2015) were winning seasons. When that team fell apart, the Bengals didn’t have the patience to build it back up again with Lewis. Lions fans don’t have it for a three-year rebuild, let alone eight.