Lewis Among Bengals' Top Candidates

[Thinking Skins]

By Mark Maske and Leonard Shapiro

Washington Post Staff Writers

Friday, January 3, 2003; Page D02

Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis has emerged as a leading candidate for the Cincinnati Bengals' head-coaching job and also is among the candidates that the Jacksonville Jaguars intend to interview.

Lewis said yesterday that he met with Bengals officials this week, and NFL sources indicated he has a solid chance of being offered the job. The representative for former Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said the Bengals have contacted Coughlin and he is interested in the job. But there were indications that the Bengals have reservations about hiring Coughlin and might be focusing on Lewis and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.

Lewis confirmed he interviewed for the job Tuesday in Cincinnati, and said he was encouraged by what he heard from Bengals President Mike Brown and other team officials.

"There was nothing that was said that would make you say, 'I don't want to do this,' " Lewis said. "They want to win. It's important for them to win, and to get the right person."

Bengals officials declined to comment. They are scheduled to interview Mularkey on Saturday in Pittsburgh, and might be ready to move forward with their top candidates Sunday or Monday.

Lewis, who left yesterday for a family vacation but is scheduled to return home by next week, said he wants the process to move "as quickly as possible," and added: "It's just a matter of people making up their minds on both sides. . . . They have a couple people they'd like to visit with, and we'll go from there. . . . The biggest thing is me getting a chance to know them and them getting a chance to know me and the direction I would try to take their program."

Lewis apparently has had reservations about going to the downtrodden Bengals for his first head-coaching job, but has seemed increasingly willing to accept the position if it's offered. His former agent, Ray Anderson, now an executive with the Atlanta Falcons, said: "He should seriously consider that job. My answer is emphatically, 'You make your best effort and you go for it.' "

Lewis spent most of Tuesday in Cincinnati, a day after the Redskins granted the Bengals' request to interview him, and the meeting first was reported by CNNSI.com yesterday. Lewis told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he had spoken only briefly with Brown and no interview had been scheduled. He said yesterday that he lied about the meeting because the Bengals had asked him to keep the interview secret.

"It was important for them that no one know, and now everyone knows," Lewis said. "It's unfortunate."

The Bengals' other candidates reportedly include St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and Cincinnati assistant coaches Mark Duffner and Jim Anderson. Sources said Coughlin, fired by the Jaguars on Monday, might not be the front-runner for the Cincinnati job as some people around the league believe, but he apparently will interview for the post in the coming days.

"There has been contact made with Cincinnati, and it's very preliminary," said his agent, Gary O'Hagan. "He's definitely interested in coaching somewhere."

If he's passed over by Cincinnati, Coughlin could land on the staff of new Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells as an assistant.

A source said the Jaguars want to interview Lewis, Mularkey, Smith, former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green, New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and at least one college coach, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver is scheduled to return today from a vacation and wants to hire a coach within two weeks, the source said.

Green appears to be the leading candidate, with Weaver leaning toward hiring one person to serve as coach and preside over personnel decisions. But Weaver also is looking at two general manager candidates, former New Orleans Saints GM Randy Mueller and Buffalo Bills assistant GM Tom Modrak, and could end up hiring a coach who wouldn't have control over the personnel department, the category into which Lewis likely would fall.

Redskins Notes: The team signed offensive lineman Akil Smith and defensive end Jace Sayler to its offseason roster.