The Cincinnati Bengals search for a new head coach advanced to warp drive Thursday, as team management huddled with former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin for a second time, and also held a second session with Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.

In what figured to be a critical session, one that might well determine the direction of the search, ESPN.com learned that Tom Coughlin met with club officials for approximately four hours about their vacancy.

Lewis arrived in Cincinnati on Thursday evening.

The Washington Post reported Friday that after Cincinnati's second meeting with Lewis, he emerged as the top candidate and reportedly will be made an offer to succeed the deposed Dick LeBeau as the ninth coach in franchise history.

Coughlin flew to Cincinnati on Thursday morning for the second round of talks with Brown and members of his family. Lewis was scheduled to arrive just a few hours after Coughlin departed.

The Bengals also met with Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and two assistants from LeBeau's staff, defensive coordinator Mark Duffner and running backs coach Jim Anderson. It is likely that neither Duffner nor Anderson are among the finalists for the job.

Cincinnati cannot talk with Mularkey again until the Steelers are eliminated from the playoffs. Under an alteration to the NFL's anti-tampering rules, the Bengals were permitted one contact with Mularkey, and team officials went to Pittsburgh last Saturday to interview him.

It appears the Bengals would prefer to have a new coach in place no later than Sunday, so that their new sideline boss could attend next week's Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., and begin assembling a staff.

Despite published reports of an alleged "rift" between Coughlin and Brown, the Bengals owner was very impressed with the former Jaguars coach in their first meeting. Bengals sources also have shot down published reports that Brown favors Coughlin while other family members, like Brown's daughter, team vice president Katie Blackburn, prefer Lewis.

Neither side expected the Thursday meetings to result in a job offer and that was the case. But the interview, which lasted about half as long as the first meeting with Coughlin, could go a long way toward deciding how interested Coughlin really is in the job, and how much the Bengals want him.

Last week, Coughlin said he felt the Bengals were "a sleeping giant," a team with more talent that many observers thought.

Coughlin presented to Cincinnati management a so-called "action plan" he spent much of the weekend compiling. In essence, it is Coughlin's view of what changes, additions or alterations the Bengals must undertake to reverse their fortunes. Sources said that not every issue in the "action plan" is a deal breaker, but that Coughlin believes some changes are necessary for the franchise to be competitive.

"The bag is empty," said a source familiar with the interview. "Tom went in and put everything on the table. Now we'll see how they react."

How team officials react to his suggestions could be an even more critical factor than salary for Coughlin, who has two seasons remaining on his Jacksonville contract, at $2.4 million per year. Then again, it is unlikely that Lewis would accept the job without some enhancements to the current state of the franchise.

In a marathon session that lasted nearly eight hours, and is believed to have covered virtually every aspect of the football operation, Cincinnati officials met with Coughlin last Friday about the vacancy created when LeBeau was fired the day after the season finale. Three days earlier, they had interviewed Lewis, the first of the candidates to meet with ownership.

Coughlin, 55, was also fired by the Jaguars the day after the regular season concluded. Hired by owner Wayne Weaver, about 18 months before Jacksonville even played its first game, Coughlin was the only coach the franchise ever had.

He is clearly is the most proven out of the candidates. In eight seasons with the Jaguars, he compiled a 72-66 record, taking the team to the playoffs on four occasions. The fact his tenure ended with three straight losing campaigns may have overshadowed the brilliant job that Coughlin did from the outset of the franchise's existence.

The team advanced to the AFC championship game in only its second year on the field, 1996, losing to the New England Patriots. In 1999, Coughlin led the Jaguars to a league-best 14-2 record, but Jacksonville was upset by Tennessee in the conference title matchup.

One potential sticking point is that, unlike his Jacksonville job description, Coughlin would not have total control of the Bengals' football operation. Coughlin essentially functioned as his own general manager while with the Jaguars, but the Bengals do not have a GM and Brown has said he will not vest total power in one man.

It is believed, however, the Bengals are prepared to provide their new head coach more power than any of his predecessors.

Lewis, 44, has long been regarded as one of the NFL's top defensive minds. He has interviewed for at least three head coach vacancies over the past two offseasons, and came close to landing the Tampa Bay job last spring, before Bucs ownership vetoed a deal brokered by team president Rich McKay.

Three weeks ago, Lewis turned down the Michigan State job.

While he has said he won't accept any job, just to break into the head coach fraternity, Lewis might be hard-pressed to reject the Cincinnati position if it is offered. As an African-American candidate, he will come under enormous pressure to accept the position, especially with league officials placing so much emphasis lately on the need to hire minority candidates.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.