CINCINNATI -- If the Bengals want to reverse the trend of mediocrity that has settled over the franchise recently, while winning back a clearly disgruntled fan base, they need a fresh start.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is planning to leave the team at the conclusion of his contract, so the Bengals will be going through their first head-coaching search since 2003.
The Bengals are last in total offense and rushing offense and rank near the bottom in almost every offensive category.
While longtime special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will surely get a look, hiring either one for the sake of continuity doesn't make sense for a team that clearly needs changes.
The Bengals have long favored continuity over change with both the players and coaching staff, choosing to keep some aging veterans on the roster instead of moving forward. They have shied away from building through the unknown of free agency and focusing on the long-term plan of the draft.
They repeatedly gave Lewis one-year extensions (or no extension in the case of this season) instead of looking for new options last year when things became stale.
The Bengals' plans worked for a while. Time is a luxury most coaches don't have, and it worked in Lewis' favor. He built the organization into a winner and got to the playoffs seven times. But time ran out, even for Lewis, and the Bengals need someone new.
Whenever the Bengals have chosen to keep everything intact instead of starting over, the results have been mediocre at best, and disastrous at worst.
The Bengals have had just nine head coaches in their 50-year history. Five of those coaches were either promoted from within or previously had ties with the Bengals.
Bengals offensive line coach Bill Johnson was selected to replace Paul Brown over offensive coordinator Bill Walsh. He resigned five games into his third season and finished 18-15. He was replaced by quarterbacks coach Homer Rice, who lasted two seasons before leaving for Georgia Tech, finishing 8-19-0.
The Bengals found their biggest successes when hiring outside the team. Forrest Gregg went 34-27 but took the Bengals to the Super Bowl before returning to Green Bay (where he had established a Hall of Fame career as a player) after three seasons.
Gregg’s successor, Sam Wyche, lasted eight seasons and took the Bengals to their second Super Bowl before he either quit or was fired after a conversation with Mike Brown (depending on who is asked the question) after the 1991 season. He was the last coach to take the Bengals to the playoffs before Lewis.
Then 32-year-old David Shula, who was promoted from wide receivers coach to replace Wyche, compiled a 19-52 record. Bruce Coslet, who was promoted after Shula was fired in middle of the 1996 season, started 7-2 that season but finished 21-39 and resigned midseason in 2000. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was promoted to replace Coslet, but did not get a contract extension in his final season and was fired after going 12-33.
The Bengals also could benefit from looking at an offensive coach this time around.
During the Bengals’ last coaching search, they were coming off a season in which they ranked last in scoring defense, even though LeBeau is considered one of the best defensive minds in the game. Lewis, a longtime linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, slowly turned things around after hiring Mike Zimmer.
With star wide receiver A.J. Green still in his prime, the Bengals need someone to turn things around on offense now, or risk wasting his best years. If the plan is to stick with Andy Dalton, they need someone to get him back on track as well.
The best way to do that is to completely wipe the slate clean.