Marvin Lewis Marvin Ronald Lewis ( born September 23 , 1958 ) is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League , a position he has held since January 14 , 2003 , making him the 2nd longest tenured head coach in the NFL . Previously , he was notable as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens , whose record - setting defense helped them win Super Bowl XXXV 34 - 7 over the New York Giants . In 2005 , under Lewis , the Bengals had their first winning season and won their first division title in fifteen years . The Associated Press named Marvin Lewis its 2009 coach of the year following a 10 - 6 regular season and another AFC North division championship . He is the first Bengals coach to win the award since team founder Paul Brown in 1970 . He is the longest tenured coach in Bengals history and holds the franchise record for most wins , surpassing Sam Wyche on October 30 , 2011 . In 2011 and 2012 , the Bengals made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 30 years . Marvin Lewis was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of McDonald , Pennsylvania and attended Idaho State University and primarily played linebacker . In 2001 , he was inducted into Idaho State University ' s Sports Hall of Fame . Playing career . In addition to playing quarterback and safety at Fort Cherry Junior - Senior High School ( PA ) , Marvin Lewis wrestled and played baseball . Playing for the Idaho State Bengals , he was a three - time All - Big Sky Conference selection . Lewis was not drafted by a National Football League team and he never pursued a professional playing career . Coaching career . College . Marvin Lewis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Idaho State before becoming the team ' s linebackers coach for four seasons ( 1981 – 1984 ) . Idaho State won the NCAA Division I - AA Championship during his first year with the team . Lewis was an assistant coach at Long Beach State University ( 1985 – 1986 ) , the University of New Mexico ( 1987 – 1989 ) , and the University of Pittsburgh ( 1990 – 1992 ) . National Football League . Assistant Coach . Marvin Lewis had coaching internships with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers before being hired as the linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 . He was on the Steelers ' Super Bowl XXX team which lost to the Dallas Cowboys . The newly - relocated Baltimore Ravens ( formerly the Cleveland Browns ) , hired Lewis as their defensive coordinator in 1996 , a position that he held for six seasons ( 1996 – 2001 ) . In 2000 , the Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34 - 7 in Super Bowl XXXV thanks largely to a defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards ( 970 ) and the fewest points ( 165 ) in a 16 - game regular season . " If ever a man proved his worth as a future head coach , Marvin Lewis did it with this complete domination of the Giants in their 16 possessions : Punt , punt , punt , punt , punt , punt , interception , punt , interception , interception , punt , interception , punt , punt , punt , end of game " , wrote " Sports Illustrated " writer Michael Silver after the game . Lewis was a prime candidate for several NFL head coaching jobs , but was passed over each time . Most notably , he nearly became head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 . General manager Rich McKay was ready to formally offer the job to Lewis , and the Ravens actually held a going - away party for him . However , the team ' s owners , the Glazer family , were unwilling to give the job to another defense - minded coach after firing Tony Dungy . Shortly afterward , Lewis was hired by the Washington Redskins as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Steve Spurrier . Head Coach . Cincinnati Bengals . Marvin Lewis became the ninth coach in Cincinnati Bengals history on January 14 , 2003 , when he was hired to replace Dick LeBeau , who was fired after the worst season in franchise history , edging out Tom Coughlin ( now head coach of the New York Giants ) and Mike Mularkey ( Head Coach of the Jacksonvile Jaguars ) . Lewis also had interviews with the Buffalo Bills , the Carolina Panthers , Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and the Cleveland Browns . Lewis also declined head coaching positions in the college ranks with the University of California , Berkeley and Michigan State University to continue pursuing his goal of becoming a head coach in the NFL . A contending team in the mid - late 1970s through the 1980s , the Cincinnati Bengals had fallen on hard times in the 1990s and had had several head coaches . After consecutive 8 - 8 seasons , Lewis shaped the Bengals into contenders with a nucleus of young players such as quarterback Carson Palmer , running back Rudi Johnson , and receivers Chad Johnson and T . J . Houshmandzadeh , defensive backs Tory James and Deltha O ' Neal . In 2005 , the Bengals recorded an 11 - 5 record and made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years , losing in the first round to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers The Bengals dropped to 8 - 8 the following year , a disappointing season in which they started out 8 - 5 and then lost their last three games of the season , any one of which could have gotten them into the playoffs with a win . Then they recorded two consecutive losing seasons , including a 4 - 11 - 1 record in 2008 , the worst of Lewis ' career . But in 2009 , Cincinnati recorded their second winning season under Lewis ' tenure . This included wins in all six games against their AFC North opponents , marking the first time in franchise history they accomplished this feat . The Bengals finished the season 10 - 6 , winning the AFC north title and earning only their second trip to the playoffs in 19 years . On January 9 , 2010 The Bengals were defeated by the New York Jets 24 - 14 in the opening round of the playoffs . On January 16 , 2010 Lewis was named the Associated Press 2009 NFL coach of the year , after the Bengals improved from a 4 - 11 - 1 record in 2008 to a 10 - 6 regular season record in 2009 . The Bengals slipped to a 4 - 12 record in 2010 , the worst since Lewis took over as coach . On January 4 , 2011 , Lewis signed an extension with the Bengals . The off - season leading up to 2011 was a difficult time for the Bengals . They lost three of their most productive players from the 2010 , receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco along with defensive back Johnathan Joseph , while quarterback Carson Palmer , the team ' s starter since 2004 , refused to play for them anymore ( he was traded midway through the season ) . However , with the aid of strong play from their first and second round draft picks , receiver A . J . Green and quarterback Andy Dalton , the Bengals still managed to record their third winning season under Lewis . Midway through 2011 , Lewis set the franchise record for wins with his 65th coaching victory , surpassing the previous record of 64 by Sam Wyche . By the halfway mark , the Bengals record was 6 - 2 , including a five game winning streak . It was the first time the Bengals had won five consecutive games since 1988 , when the team advanced to the Super Bowl with Wyche as their coach . They finished the season 9 - 7 and made the playoffs as the # 6 seed . On July 31 , 2012 , The Bengals gave Lewis a 2 year contract extension through 2014 . Cincinnati started out the 2012 with a 44 - 13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , the most lopsided opening day defeat in franchise history . But the team recovered and went on to win their next three games . After defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 16 the Bengals clinched the AFC # 6 seed and eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention . This marked the first time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 1982 , ending the longest active streak of failure to make consecutive playoff appearances among all 32 NFL teams . Cincinnati finished the season with a 10 - 6 record , including a franchise record 51 quarterback sacks . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Marvin Lewis has served : Assistant coaches under Marvin Lewis who have become NFL head coaches :