Zimmer says Lewis should be Bengals coach as long as he wants

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer will put their 35-year friendship on hold for three hours Sunday, but it was on full display Wednesday.

It began with Zimmer, who was Lewis’ defensive coordinator in Cincinnati from 2008-13, throwing his support behind his former boss as the Bengals coach heads into what could be his final three games with the organization.

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“Marvin has done some unbelievable things for that organization,” Zimmer said. “Honestly, he deserves to be there as long as he wants to be, in my opinion. I know how good of a coach Marvin Lewis is. I know what kind of person he is. I know he’s good for that community. And I know what he’s done for 99 percent of the players there. It would be a tremendous loss if he wasn’t back.”

Informed of what Zimmer said, Lewis joked, “I guess I owe him a check” before getting serious about his future.

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“We all realize when you sign up for these jobs it’s not forever,” Lewis said. “I think we all accept that.

“But that’s great,” Lewis added in reference to Zimmer’s comments. “I appreciate that support from Mike. When things don’t go well for us, that’s all we have is each other.”

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