The idea that NFL head coaches can’t enter the final year of their contracts is puzzling, but that once again is the norm.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has convinced ownership that after 14 years and no playoff wins, he simply can not coach on the final year of his deal.

NFL Network’s Mike Silver reported that Lewis has signed a one-year contract extension.

Just filed to @nflnetwork: Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has agreed to a contract extension with the team that will run through 2017…

— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 8, 2016

Lewis’ tenure is somewhat of a conundrum for Bengals fans and ownership.

He took over an absolute dumpster fire of a franchise and now they are a consistent winner…in the regular season.  Without Lewis, who knows if they would have become a playoff fixture?

With Lewis, the fact remains that however good those regular season records look, they’ve still won exactly no playoff games, and have often embarrassed themselves in January.

This year was no exception, and although they managed to avoid a blowout, they lost composure and grasped defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to idiotic penalties by Vontaze Burfict and Adam “Pacman” Jones.

Lewis and his agent have leveraged Bengals owner Mike Brown into at least one more year, and it’s probably the right move.  It’s become commonplace that coaches apparently can’t coach on the final year’s of their deal.  It’s understandable that a coach like Lewis coming off multiple playoff appearances would get another season, but it’s more questionable when a head coach like Jacksonville’s Gus Bradley gets another year when his best record has been 5-11.

That’s the world we live in and that’s the scam that coaches have put together.