Marvin Lewis capped off a week of rumors regarding his future with a comeback victory over his former team, but offered no definitive word on whether he will be coaching next season.
The Cincinnati Bengals coach of 15 seasons told reporters following his team's dramatic win over the Baltimore Ravens that, on the status of his job, "there are decisions to be made" but "first it'll be the ownership" to make the move. Lewis' contract expired after the close of the 2017 season.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that the expectation in Cincinnati is that after Lewis and owner Mike Brown, who have a strong relationship, sit down this week, they will mutually decide that Lewis will no longer be the Bengals coach in 2018.
However, Rapoport did add that there is a reasonable chance Lewis stays around the organization in the Cincy front office or at least around football in the league office. Lewis also shouldn't be ruled out as a coaching candidate elsewhere, given the expected number of vacancies and the inexperience of the coaching pool.
A decision on Lewis' future in Cincy isn't expected immediately. Lewis told his coaching staff Monday it might be a few days before his future in is decided, a source informed of the communication between Lewis and his staff told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
The Bengals battled for the embattled coach down the stretch, winning their final two games over playoff hopefuls after scoring just 14 points combined in their previous two losses. Will Cincy's strong close to the season be enough for Brown to offer Lewis yet another contract? We'll find out in the coming days.
