ASU Football: Marvin Lewis interviews for Texans job

Arizona State co-defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis is going through the interview process for the Houston Texans vacant head coaching position.

Lewis, a former longtime NFL coach, worked in the league from 1990-2018 before parting ways with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 2009 AP Coach of the Year, Lewis made five consecutive postseason appearances from 2011-15 in Cincinnati, and his all-time head coaching record in the NFL is 131-122.

He also worked for the Washington Football Team, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers in roles as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Lewis joined the ASU staff in 2019 as a special advisor to head coach Herm Edwards. The two would break down film on a consistent basis and are longtime friends.

After one season behind the scenes and with the departures of Danny Gonzales and Tony White, Lewis was named co-defensive coordinator for the Sun Devils along with co-DC and associate head coach Antonio Pierce.

ASU shifted from a 3-3-5 system to a more traditional defensive scheme this season, and for the most part, it found success. The transition led to the team giving up 23.25 points per game in four games played during a challenging 2020 season.

The Lewis news comes a day after it was rumored that Pierce was in talks for the head coaching position at the University of Arizona.

However, the Wildcats ended up hiring New England Patriots quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, while it was reported that Pierce was undergoing a new contract extension to remain in Tempe.

If Lewis did indeed depart for Houston, it’d seem like a smooth and plausible transition in handing Pierce the reigns as ASU’s full-time defensive coordinator.