Lewis talks with Jets
Ex-Bengals coach gets look to replace Gase
Add Marvin Lewis’ name to the list. The Jets announced Thursday that they have interviewed the former longtime Bengals coach as the search for Adam Gase’s replacement continues.
Lewis’ interview comes a day after Gang Green interviewed one of the hottest candidates on the market in Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy was the first candidate to interview virtually with the Jets search committee headed by GM Joe Douglas.
Bieniemy’s Chiefs have the week off as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Kansas City begins its Super Bowl title defense in the divisional round.
Gase was fired by acting owner Christopher Johnson on Sunday night after the Jets wrapped up an embarrassing 2-14 season. In two seasons under Gase, the Jets went 9-23.
Lewis, 62, spent 16 seasons as the head coach of the Bengals, where he amassed a 131-122-3 record. He was fired in December 2018 after a third straight losing season. Despite winning four AFC North titles under Lewis, the Bengals went 0-7 in the playoffs.
The former NFL coach of the year has most recently served as the co-defensive coordinator at Arizona State under ex-Jets coach Herm Edwards.
Lewis has a connection to Douglas as the two overlapped in Baltimore in 2000. Lewis was the coordinator for the fearsome Ravens defense that carried the team to a dominating Super Bowl victory over the Giants. Douglas was in his first year on GM Ozzie Newsome’s personnel staff that season.
Due to the pandemic, all first-round interviews for head coaching gigs around the NFL are being conducted via Zoom.
The Jets are one of six teams searching for a new head coach to start 2021. The Chargers, Jaguars, Falcons, Lions and Texans are also on the hunt.
Gang Green has reportedly also requested permission to interview 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn in what Douglas described as casting “a very wide net” for Gase’s replacement. Glenn spent his first eight seasons in the NFL with the Jets, including two trips to the Pro Bowl. He began his coaching career with the Browns in 2014 and joined the Saints in 2016.
With the Browns and Bucs making the playoffs this season, the Jets now hold the league’s longest playoff drought at 10 seasons. Gang Green last made the postseason under Rex Ryan when the franchise made back-toback trips to the conference title game after the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Since then, the Jets have had just one winning season (10-6 in 2015).
Any coach would appear to be a massive upgrade over Gase, but hiring one who failed all seven times he reached the postseason hardly seems like a move that would excite the long-suffering fanbase.