Marvin Lewis

Marvin Roland Lewis Jr. (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional football coach who served as the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League for 16 seasons. Quotes My dad worked in the mill, and he would work three shifts, I spent nine weeks in the mill one summer and it was nine weeks of hell. When it got closer to football season, the foreman would ask me if I wanted to work more, and I told him, ‘No, I’ve got to work out.’ I begged to get off of work the next summer too. That was hard work. I wanted to be an engineer, But the more I was in football, the more I wanted to be a coach. In high school, I was doodling football plays all the time. You’ve got to bring people through those pitfalls, through tough times, even hold their hands sometimes. There are going to be ups and downs along the way, but you’ve got to stay the course and keep people focused on the ultimate goal. I did OK as a student. I had to make sure that I did the work. It certainly wasn’t easy for me. I would have to study and work at it to get a good grade. I was feeling bad about my parents having to pay for school because I didn’t have a full scholarship. So, when I got the opportunity to be on a full scholarship at Idaho State, that put it over the top and I went there. The more and more that I was around the game and the coaches, the more I really thought I could teach and help players. So as soon as I finished college, I began coaching at Idaho State. I’d teach and run the after-school football program for weight lifting. I was 22. I wasn’t getting paid, but I loved it. No, I never thought about going to the NFL. I was just trying to be the best defensive coordinator that I could be, I literally never thought about being a head coach. I tell young coaches all the time to just be the best coach they can be at what they’re doing. People call you because of the job that you do, as opposed to you saying, ‘There’s a job over there, I’m interested in that.’ Too many times, coaches will get caught up in, one, chasing jobs, and, two, worrying about how much they’re going to make. The best players want to be coached. If you aspire to be a great NFL player, you’re going to work to be the smartest and best prepared. Many young kids take that for granted. They think it’s just about being a superior athlete. Yes, they all have good-to-great athletic ability, but the ones that play the longest are also the smartest. It’s so much easier to coach a hard worker. The talented player may not work very hard. You have to have patience to help him develop and gain the work ethic. You’ve got to take the talented player and get him to understand how his work ethic will help shape his career and make him a better player. Some people are unfortunately naturally lazy and you’ve got to help them see the light. Because in order to be great, you’ve got to work hard. Hard work is essential to being great. The Hall of Fame players that I’ve had the opportunity to coach and be around are extremely hard workers. Sometimes the hardest worker and the guy that is in there first every day, may be the guy that we ask to leave. That’s hard. You want to see that player succeed because of what he’s invested in it. But it doesn’t always happen. There are players that we don’t touch. So, I don’t accept that we take a ‘risk’ on a player. We research players. If we feel a player can overcome challenges, we don’t view it as a risk. If we judge that he can’t overcome a challenge, we see that as risk and we’re not taking it. I’m not rolling any dice. Seeing ‘most,’ because you have to see the pitfalls along the way, and understand that. You’ve got to bring people through those pitfalls, through tough times, even hold their hands sometimes. There are going to be ups and downs along the way, but you’ve got to stay the course and keep people focused on the ultimate goal. I really believe in staying on track. Sure, you’re allowed to change, but you’ve got to decide and articulate why you’re changing and when. If you lay the proper groundwork, you’ve got to feel comfortable about the course you’re taking. If you’ve prepared all week and you’re confident in your plan, then the games are all about execution. All your preparation and buildup is for when that game kicks off. So for me, it’s exciting to see how the guys are going to perform and play. The important part is we’ve got to execute and play the play, all the time. So, that’s our challenge as coaches, to get our guys, put them into position to execute and give us an opportunity to win. Losing is a hard feeling, With a win, as coaches, we put it behind us very quickly and we move on to the next week. A loss hangs with you longer. A coach’s life: The patient leadership of Marvin Lewis, October 09 2017 External links Category:American football coaches Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:African Americans Category:People from Pennsylvania