Lewis will make his return to Cincinnati this week as a member of the Raiders.
Despite having a roster that should easily be in the playoff hunt, this is quickly turning into a lost season for the Cincinnati Bengals before the calendar even reaches November.
While there’s plenty of blame to go around, no one has a bigger impact on the entire roster than the head coach, so much of the Bengals’ shortcomings should be placed at Zac Taylor’s feet.
Ironically, the Bengals will host the Las Vegas Raiders this week, where former head coach Marvin Lewis is now an assistant coach. So what better time than now to ask: Was Lewis a better head coach than Taylor?
For all of Lewis’ shortcomings, he took over what was arguably the worst NFL franchise and immediately got them back to respectability. He also never had a stretch as bad as 6-25-1, which is what Taylor did over his first two seasons (Lewis went 8-8 in back-to-back seasons to begin his head-coaching career). Hey, at least that got the Bengals Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase though…
Another argument for Lewis is he actually had a high level of success as a defensive coordinator before becoming a head coach, whereas Taylor flamed out in his brief offensive coordinator stints at the college and NFL level. And his career as a play-caller for the Bengals has been…at best, a mixed bag.
Of course, the 0-7 mark in the playoffs is what everyone remembers about Lewis, while Taylor has a 5-2 postseason mark.
It’s an interesting debate that we wanted to gauge among Bengals fans, so let us know your thoughts in the poll below and in the comments section!
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cincinnati Bengals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Who Dey!
