The morning after an embarrassing 51-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints, in which the Cincinnati Bengals gave up 50 points for the first time since 2007 and just the fifth time in franchise history, the team has fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

The Bengals confirmed the firing, first reported by ESPN, and announced that Lewis will coordinate the defense for the rest of the season. Lewis ran the defense in Baltimore and Washington before becoming head coach in Cincinnati in 2003.

Quick exit for Austin

Austin was in his first season as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, and has been friends with Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis for years.

But Lewis didn’t let friendship get in the way of his decision, giving Austin the boot after just nine games.

The Cincinnati Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Monday, just nine games into his tenure with the team. (AP)

The Bengals are currently last in the NFL in yards allowed, including 32nd in passing yards allowed and 31st in rushing yards allowed per game. They are last in first downs, last in third-down conversions allowed and 31st in points per game allowed.

Little more than a month ago, the Bengals were 4-1, and at that point the defense was ranked 25th in yards allowed and 21st in points per game. In the four games since, Cincinnati has gone 1-3, with the defense giving up 481 yards or more in each of those four games, and an average of nearly 40 points per game.

Star falls quickly for Austin

The 53-year-old Austin spent 2015-17 as the Detroit Lions‘ defensive coordinator. He has been considered a rising star in the coaching ranks and a potential head coach, interviewing with multiple teams in recent years for head coaching vacancies.

He was the first candidate the Lions interviewed after firing Jim Caldwell, though he was never considered a strong possibility for the job, which went to Matt Patricia. Austin has interviewed nine times, though he believes at least a couple of those were cursory and done to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

He has made no secret of his desire to someday be a head coach, but his firing likely makes the chances of that ever happening much longer.

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