His team lost a disappointing wild-card weekend game against the New York Jets last week, but it didn't dissuade voters. Today, the AP announced that they have named Marvin Lewis the NFL Coach of the Year.
Marvin Lewis follows team founder Paul Brown as the second Bengals coach to earn the honor. Brown won the award in 1970, when the Bengals won the AFC Central during the franchise's first NFL season.
The Bengals won the AFC North with a 10-6 record. This is only their second division title since 1990, both of which came under Marvin Lewis. The team managed to do so despite tragedies, including the death of both Vicki Zimmer, wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, and WR Chris Henry.
Furthermore, many on the team had to face adversity with the tsunami that devastated American Samoa. With all these tragedies, Marvin Lewi had to be more than just an NFL coach; he had to hold the team together.
Marvin Lewis earned 20 1/2 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints had 11 1/2, Norv Turner of San Diego had 9 and Jim Caldwell of Indianapolis finished with 7. Andy Reid of Philadelphia and Ken Whisenhunt of Arizona had one vote each.
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, they seemed to peak early. The Bengals went 7-2 and sweeping Pittsburgh and Baltimore to take command of the AFC North. However, they ended the season by stumbling into the playoff, losing three of their final four games, all against playoff teams, which was a bad sign.
Still, it's hard to discount the role that Marvin Lewis had in bringing Cincinnati as far as it went. Although the team wanted to go further, they surely must feel proud to have overcome all they did this season.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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