after 15 years...Marvin Lewis out

Or lose one for the draft pick for the new skipper.

Or not matter because the Vikes are better.  

I saw an article listing potential candidates to replace Lewis, and was glad it did not mention Mike Zimmer. (Jay Gruden and Hue Jackson were...) Zimmer lives in Kentucky not far from Cincinatti, and the Bengals would have to give him an amazing offer, like being GM+ HC. Is it safe to assume that's not possible?

This is interesting.

@christomasson	35m
Marvin Lewis denies the report he's leaving as Bengals coach and#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he hasn't gotten any hints about it.twincities.com/2017/12/17/vik…

@"Norse" said:

This is interesting.

@christomasson	35m
Marvin Lewis denies the report he's leaving as Bengals coach and#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he hasn't gotten any hints about it.twincities.com/2017/12/17/vik…

Lol. Awkward. He's leaving whether he wants to or not. That's a horrible way for the team to handle it.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Norse" said:

This is interesting.

@christomasson	35m
Marvin Lewis denies the report he's leaving as Bengals coach and#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he hasn't gotten any hints about it.twincities.com/2017/12/17/vik…

That tells me the owners leaked it and he's gone..especially after today.

@"Jor-El" said: I saw an article listing potential candidates to replace Lewis, and was glad it did not mention Mike Zimmer. (Jay Gruden and Hue Jackson were...) Zimmer lives in Kentucky not far from Cincinatti, and the Bengals would have to give him an amazing offer, like being GM+ HC. Is it safe to assume that's not possible?

Zimmer signed an extension last year and has spent the past 4-years building the Vikings, especially the defense, into a championship caliber roster. I don't think you need to worry about the Bengals trying to poach him. There are times where teams will trade HCs, but I haven't heard of a HC being able to break a contract to take a HC + GM role elsewhere.

As for Marvin Lewis, he's been a good coach for a long time and the team has been plagued with injuries this year, but he hasn't had playoff success and after 15-years, I can understand the temptation to change things up. I do think with some better luck and a deeper roster he could get them back to the playoffs again, but it is fair to question how far he could take them. Also, I believe all of their assistants contracts are up this year, so even if he stayed things would change. Probably a good time for him to move on and with a weak pool of coaching candidates, someone will likely take a chance on him, though I don't think it is a given that whomever Cincy hires will be better. They have some roster issues they need to address and have had to let go of some good players, particularly on the OL, recently.