Cooley, a former Washington Redskins tight end, said on ESPN 980 radio in Washington that Lewis was planning to retire at the end of the season.
After Lewis’ open-ended response, he was asked if he planned to retire.
“Again, if you want to talk about the Ravens, we’ll talk about them,” he said. “It’s not what I have to deal with. You seem to have to deal with it more than I do.”
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Asked to clarify his comments about 45 minutes after the press conference, Lewis again failed to issue a blanket denial.
“In my mind, I didn’t leave anything open,” Lewis said through a team spokesman. “I just didn’t want to address it. I didn’t want to feed headlines.”
Lewis is under contract through the 2017 season.
He has compiled a 117-103-3 regular-season record and 0-7 in the postseason in his 14 seasons, making him the longest tenured coach in franchise history. Among active coaches, only New England’s Bill Belichick has been with the same team longer (17 seasons).
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