Steelers' Mularkey anticipates second interview with Bengals

There was no message waiting from Bengals president Mike Brown when Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey returned home from his team's loss to the Titans yesterday. But that doesn't mean there won't be a second interview for the Bengals' head coaching post.

"I have not gotten a call yet, but I am expecting to hear from them," the talented offensive coach told The NFL Today and SportsLine.com from his office. "There should be another interview in the near future, but nothing is scheduled yet."

Mularkey received an interview last Saturday in Pittsburgh, the day before his Steelers knocked off the Cleveland Browns in a come-from-behind shocker. Since that interview, Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis and former Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin have each conducted second interviews.

Early in the week, it appeared the job was Coughlin's for the taking if he was willing to work under Brown's conditions. Sources close to Coughlin say he truly wanted the job but wanted to put certain things in place to ensure he could coach the way he is used to. Basically, Brown would have had to alter the way he has run his business in the past if he wanted to hire Coughlin.

Lewis's repeat interview followed Coughlin's second meeting and reports out of Washington stated he would be hired for the job. But the Bengals held off to see if Mularkey could be had for a second interview this week.

"I think something will happen soon," he said. "I think there will be another interview soon."