CINCINNATI -- The assistant head coach is no longer with the team, however, head coach Marvin Lewis will return for his 16th attempt to secure a playoff victory.
In a league that prioritizes what you have done for me lately, the Cincinnati Bengals are a different case. Lewis met with the media after receiving a contract extension until 2019 and spoke in general terms about how he needs to change his team.
Better players. Better leadership. Better performance.
All the things he has said many times during the second longest active streak for a coach in the NFL, behind only Bill Belichick. Unlike the head coach of the New England Patriots, who has five Super Bowl titles, Lewis has yet to win in the postseason.
However, 82-year-old owner Mike Brown hates changes and was willing to give Lewis another chance after a poor season.
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The 82-year-old owner did not attend the press conference - he rarely appears before the media - so he let Lewis explain why he was still there.
"We're going to have to start from scratch, so we might as well start from zero with something we understand," Lewis said.
"Everyone can always see what is negative, but the only way we can start from there and do something positive is by going back to work."
A change: Lewis wanted more control over the coaching staff and evidently he got it. Paul Alexander, the assistant head coach and offensive line coach for 23 years, is no longer with the team.
Bill Lazor, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after a 0-2 start last season, will remain in that position and have the opportunity to redesign the worst offense in the NFL during the offseason.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will be interviewed for the same position by the Oakland Raiders, so it is likely that Lewis will have to look for a replacement.
Lewis has a 0-7 record in the playoffs. His teams lost five consecutive games in the first round of the postseason from 2011 to 2015, another record.
The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990, the sixth longest streak in league history.
"I will tell people that when you go to a car lot, you know what you're looking for and you won't be convinced one way or another, that's what you're going to do," Lewis concluded. "That's what I believe about NFL owners."