Real Headline
from
Lincolnreport
“The Bengals travel to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, facing old friend Mike Zimmer. It would be a massive victory if the Bengals could pull the upset over the 10-3 Vikings. Familiarity also could play a part in who succeeds Lewis with the Bengals. No, it will not be Zimmer, who is locked in there. But it could be someone else who worked under Lewis in Cincinnati. A name to keep in mind, should he come free: Hue Jackson, who has remained close to Lewis over the years and who was believed to be Lewis’ first choice at one point to replace him with the Bengals before Brown took the head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns. There clearly are some obstacles here for this to happen. Chiefly, Jackson is under contract and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has said multiple times he’ll return in 2018. Also, the idea of selling a replacement for Lewis in the form of a coach who has amassed a record of 1-28 might not go over too well, even with the familiarity there. But new Browns GM John Dorsey might not be as keen on Jackson coming back, and this sudden opening could grease the wheels to making the Jackson-to-Cincy thing possible. If Jackson is not in the picture but the Bengals are willing to go with someone Lewis has worked with before, his coaching tree is rather expansive and impressive. Jay Gruden and Vance Joseph have appeared to be on somewhat shaky ground this season with Washington and Denver, respectively, but might not be available either. Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has head-coaching experience and could be an option. So could members of Lewis’ current staff, such as defensive coordinator Paul Guenther and special-teams coordinator Darrin Simmons, who stepped in for Lewis one day this summer during a brief absence.”
