Why Marvin Lewis was the greatest NFL coach in history

Before we start, former Cincinnati Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis should be considered as the greatest NFL coach in Bengals history. Here's why.

In the 15 years Lewis spent as the head coach of the Bengals, he took the team to seven playoff appearances in that time. Given that all those appearances were in the Wildcard Playoff, it was the first time since 1990 that the Bengals had gone into the playoffs. On top of that, the Bengals had four head coaches before Lewis who did not take the team to the playoffs after 1990 and did not have a winning season until the 3rd season under Lewis.

If that isn't enough, Lewis was responsible for Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton's success. Dalton was drafted by the Bengals in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Dalton holds eight positive franchise records in the time he has spent at the center and is part of the reason for the Bengals success in going into several wildcard playoffs. Unfortunately, Dalton has not been as successful in the past years since the arrival of new head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor benched Dalton after a 0-8 start but the worse part about the benching was that he was benched a day after his birthday.

Dalton currently has 60.4% completion rating, 2,252 passing yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, with 29 sacks and four fumbles. It's certainly not perfect, but considering what the Bengals have, it is fine. They are without their star wide receiver A.J. Green, who is probably the teams top player. However, the Bengals have been surviving without him with receivers such as Tyler Boyd and John Ross.

With all that being said, it's not clear whether Taylor is the answer and firing Lewis was the right move. Only time will tell whether the Bengals organization made the right move.