It's official: Bengals fire coach Marvin Lewis after 16th season

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals fired coach Marvin Lewis today, ending a 16-year stay in Cincinnati that included seven playoff appearances without so much as one win.

The move ends the second-longest head coaching tenure in the league. New England's Bill Belichick is wrapping up his 19th season with another postseason berth. He's won five Super Bowls and made eight appearances in the title game, both NFL records.

Lewis leaves Cincinnati with a postseason record of 0-7, the worst in NFL history. The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, tied with Washington for the fifth-longest futility in league history.

A third straight losing season punctuated by plummeting attendance prompted change-resistant Mike Brown to finally cut ties with Lewis, whose loyalty and close working relationship with the owner brought him repeated contract extensions even as the playoff losses piled up.

They described their parting as a mutual decision.

The Bengals (6-10) lost in Pittsburgh 16-13 on Sunday and finished last in the AFC North for only the second time under Lewis. Attendance at Paul Brown Stadium has fallen to the second lowest in the league, ahead of only the Los Angeles Chargers, who are playing in a small, temporary stadium.

"I didn't deliver what the No. 1 goal is, and that's to be world champions, and we did not get that done," Lewis said at a news conference. "A lot of positives, but that's the one goal as a coach you look forward to doing. Mike and I both decided it's time. I think it's a tough moment for both of us, but we both realized."