TV station sends little person to Marvin Lewis press conference after he called Johnny Manziel ‘a midget’ (VIDEO)

In a move directly out of a Howard Stern playbook, days after Bengals coach Marvin Lewis called Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel “a midget,” a Cleveland television station sent a little person to Lewis’ midweek press conference.

Cleveland’s FOX 8 assigned local media personality “Lil’ John” Rinaldi to Wednesday's presser to ask Lewis questions about the Browns and Manziel, who’ll make his first NFL start this Sunday against Lewis’ Bengals.

And it's no coincidence the diminutive reporter was in the room.

“Based on the height difference on a player like Manziel how has your defensive approach changed for Sunday’s game,” Rinaldi, who is 4-foot-3, asked Lewis.

Lewis answered Rinaldi’s question directly — along with a follow-up — albeit, a little uncomfortably.

The exchange happens in the video below (at 0:43):

The Bengals coach had already apologized for the comments made on a local radio show Monday night, when he was discussing how to defend the under-6-foot rookie and said “You’ve got to go defend the offense, you don’t defend the player,” before muttering “particularly a midget,” between questions from the show’s hosts.

He seems to be a reporter/employee for Fox 8 in Cleveland @WEWS @wcpo #Bengals pic.twitter.com/OqSGIpossZ
— Mark Slaughter (@MarkVSlaughter) December 10, 2014

As for Wednesday’s stunt by FOX 8, Lewis responded to it in humorless fashion and without using the M-word.

"I did not apologize directly to him, but the gentleman asked a couple questions in doing his job," Lewis told Cleveland.com of Rinaldi. "Hopefully I answered them correctly."

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis calls Johnny Manziel 'a midget' (AUDIO)

All of the uncertainty surrounding who will be the Browns quarterback when they play the Bengals Sunday has everyone wondering if Cincinnati's game plan will change if Johnny Manziel replaces Brian Hoyer.

Asked if that would be the case during an interview on 700 WLW, Marvin Lewis came back with a short response.

"No ... you've got to defend the offense, you don’t defend the player ... particularly a midget,” said the Bengals head coach.

Wow. We all know Johnny football is smaller than most NFL quarterbacks but come on.

Here's the audio track:

Soon after that interview, Lewis said he was sorry.

"I apologize to Johnny and the Browns and all the fans in Cleveland," Lewis said. "It was just a poor remark. I seriously did not imply anything by it."

It sounds like coach forgot one little segment of the population in his apology.

Rex Ryan: Marvin Lewis asked me not to run the Wildcat

New York Jets' fans waited all spring and summer to see Tim Tebow unleashed in the team's new Wildcat offense.  They're still waiting.

Head coach Rex Ryan didn't run the Tebow-based Wildcat at all on Friday night against the Cincinnati Bengals and claims the reason was an unusual agreement he made with his opposing coach, Marvin Lewis, before the exhibition game.

Ryan explained that the Bengals coach called him before the game and asked him not to.

The Jets coach has been boasting all summer about how afraid opposing defenses are going to be handling Tebow this season and claims Lewis' plea is just evidence of that fear.

"I know nobody's worried about Wildcat and all that stuff.  It's real easy to stop," a sarcastic Ryan said last week.  'That's why I got a call at 7 a.m. the day before we played by Marvin not wanting to see the Wildcat.  I guess I'm the only guy who thinks it has a place in the NFL... me and every defensive coach in the league."

Ryan— who once coached with Lewis in Baltimore— suspiciously turned off the Tebow Wildcat on Friday against the Bengals.  It's odd that a coach would not test out his new secret weapon but it's even more strange that a coach wouldn't want to test his defense against the offense— just in case they come across it during the regular season.

Coaches who have made gentleman's agreements before meaningless preseason games are rare but not unheard of.

Last summer, Saints coach Sean Payton called Jim Harbaugh to make some kind of a pact before a pre-season game only to have it fall on the deaf ears of the 49ers coach.  The unanswered call led to the Saints unleashing hell and piling on a half-dozen sacks on the unsuspecting 49ers.

Ryan could have blitzed Lewis just the same, but it might not have mattered.  Tebow was less than impressive in his debut with Gang Green.  There were a couple of completions and first down runs.  But there were also a holding call and an interception in about a quarter and a half.

If the Jets want to test out their Wildcat, that's their decision, regardless of what the opposing team wants.  Maybe we'll see it next week or maybe Ryan is saving it for the real games. 

As for the Bengals, what were they afraid of?