5 bold predictions for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018

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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 27: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis answers questions during the AFC & NFC coaches breakfast at the 2018 NFL Annual Meetings at the Ritz Carlton Orlando, Great Lakes on March 27, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by B51/Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

1. Marvin Lewis will finally get fired

One of the NFL’s craziest facts is that Marvin Lewis is the second-longest tenured head coach in the league. Only Bill Belichick has been at the helm of his franchise for a longer time.

Mercifully for long-suffering Bengals fans, this will be his last season in charge. This team isn’t going to make the playoffs and that’s going to serve as the final nail in Lewis’ coffin. He may get a chance to coach somewhere else in 2019, but it will have to be with a different franchise.

Most teams would choose to part with Lewis once the team falls out of playoff contention, but don’t expect the Bengals to do that. They’ll give Lewis the privilege of finishing out the season before giving him the ax. That may be an antiquated notion, but it will be a fitting end for the way the Bengals have always dealt with Lewis.

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Once he gets shown the door, it will likely start significant roster change in Cincinnati. This team will look much different once they break camp in 2019. That might not help them immediately, but it should raise the franchise’s potential upside in the near future. The only question is whether or not the Bengals’ decision-makers can be trusted to hire a true upgrade.

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