Marvin Lewis, who failed to win a playoff game in 16 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, could reportedly get another head-coaching job in the NFL. But does he deserve it?
Former Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes, who turned down an opportunity to play for Lewis, says yes. Unequivocally, yes.
“Why wouldn’t you consider hiring Marvin?” Spikes asked on The Zach Gelb Show. “Let me tell you how bad the culture was in Cincinnati. Man, it was so bad we could not even get Gatorade to take home. We all know you can’t look at that as an expense when your guys are going out there and busting their butt. This is something simple. I remember times coming in where you couldn’t even get a jockstrap without turning in your old one. Why in the hell are you trying to keep up with an old jockstrap?”
Spikes, the 13th overall pick in 1998, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bengals. He hit free agency in 2003 – the same year Lewis arrived in Cincinnati.
“Bottom line is this,” Spikes said. “Marvin came in, tried to persuade me to stay. I told him, ‘I’m out, and I don’t give a damn what you tell me. I’m not staying. I don’t want to be a part of this.’ But he changed the culture.”
Lewis went 8-8 in 2003. It was the Bengals’ first non-losing season since 1996. Lewis went 8-8 again in 2004. Then, in 2005, he led the Bengals to an 11-5 record and an AFC North championship. It was the first of seven playoff appearances for Lewis.
“Now, did he win any playoff games?” Spikes asked. “No, but he brought hope back into the city. He brought hope back into the players. Looking at some of the guys who played for him – Carson [Palmer], Willie Anderson, all of these guys who clearly come out and say to this day, ‘Marvin really changed the culture. And Spikes, we wish you could have been there because I understand why you left. You didn’t trust what was going on because of what had happened in previous years.’”
Spikes signed with Buffalo and became an All-Pro. He later played for the Eagles, 49ers, and Chargers.
“[Lewis] should get an opportunity, man,” Spikes said. “That was hard for him to do. You’re looking for a guy who is a leader of men and a guy who you want to come in and change the culture, one; [and] two, provide simple solutions, which are presented as complicated problems, to a team from top down, why wouldn’t you give him an opportunity if he was able to do that in Cincinnati?”
As for the Gatorade and jockstrap stories, Spikes insists they’re true.
“I’m a man of integrity,” he said. “I don’t do much for clickbait.”