Bengals head coach Zac Taylor‘s short history as a head coach is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s been a bit of all or nothing for Cincinnati fans as Taylor’s squad has either been playing in an AFC championship game (and a Super Bowl) to end a season or finishing fourth in the AFC North to end a season. Currently at 1-4 with a Sunday night matchup against the Giants to determine if they will be in fourth place in the AFC North to end Week 6, some are beginning to wonder if Taylor’s seat is starting to heat up.
Taylor’s first two seasons saw a combined record of 6-25-1. The first, two-win season solidified the Bengals’ ability to draft LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall draft pick. An ineffective rookie Burrow, who would eventually miss time with injury, led to a second straight losing season.
The next two years saw the best of what Taylor and his team had to offer. In Burrow’s sophomore campaign, Taylor and his quarterback led the team to its first division title since 2015 with a 10-7 record. They fell in Super Bowl LVI to the Rams then avoided the hangover by going 12-4 to secure back-to-back division titles for the first time in franchise history.
That success didn’t hold over into 2023. In 10 games with a healthy Burrow, the Bengals only won five games, and the team went 4-3 for the remainder of season, finishing fourth in a very competitive AFC North with a 9-8 record. So far, in 2024, the Bengals are 1-4 and in danger of once again falling to fourth place in the division with a loss tonight. To date, Taylor’s record as a head coach in the regular season is 38-48-1.
Despite the all or nothing results each season, many journalists are under the impression that Taylor’s job is in no danger. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated points out that the Bengals are historically a very patient franchise. Taylor’s predecessor, Marvin Lewis, was given ample time in his role. Hired in 2003, Lewis was in place for the Bengals for 16 years before finally departing.
In all that time with Lewis the Bengals saw a variety of results. They made the playoffs seven times during Lewis’ tenure, even finding the postseason six times in a seven-year stretch, but they never made it past the wild-card round, going 0-7 in the playoffs. Not only was Lewis given grace despite an absence of any sort of playoff success, but he was also given the nearly full tenures of two franchise quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton, to figure it out. Despite that consistency at the quarterback position, Lewis failed to find lasting success, and still the franchise persisted under his leadership.
In contrast, Taylor’s lack of consistent regular season success has had no bearing on his 5-2 playoff record. Not only has he made it past the wild-card round in both playoff appearances, but he also made it to the Conference final in both years. Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic tends to agree with Breer’s sentiments, pointing out that, despite the team’s 1-4 record, Taylor is still calling plays for a top-10 offense and a top-five passing offense coming into Week 6. There’s still plenty of time left in the season, and Dehner believes that, despite the odds, Cincinnati cannot be ruled out for a playoff spot.
Combine Taylor’s playoff success and offensive success with very patient franchise ownership, and there’s no reason to believe that a new coach will be in place for the Bengals in 2025. Fans and pundits tend to get upset in the midst of stretches that result in a 1-4 record, but team owners and management are rarely as reactive.
Of course he’s not cause Mike Brown doesn’t really care about winning
Really? That’s why he paid Burrow 55 million a year, and will pay Chase 35 million a year after the season. He probably sits in his office plotting how he can do things to destroy the football team, like renovating the locker room, building a new practice facility, etc etc. This old crap about Brown is ignorant. Whenever his name is brought up everyone rolls their eyes and talks about how cheap he is. He’s putting out quite a lot of money for the team and what kind of results are they giving him. Every year they lose the first 3 games, guaranteed, then they play catch up. Why reward a team for mediocrity? They went to a Super Bowl 2 years ago, so maybe cheap is the way to go. How many coaches do you need? Would more equipment help these guys? Not if they don’t use what’s already there. The problem is the coach, not Mike Brown. The coach doesn’t hold anyone accountable, the coach wants to be everyone’s buddy, the coach thinks he’s a football expert. Why exactly would more coaches, or more whirlpools or another treadmill do anything? Brown expects people to do their job, that’s what they are paid to do. This team needs a Forrest Gregg, or Bum Phillips to put a fire under their ass, not someone who throws money around for half assed effort, like they do in Dallas.
Here come the Mike Brown haters ! Shoot- I’m late.
Please defend him… I’d love to hear it
Seriously. Brown epitomizes the “less is less” approach. Little front office, few scouts, nickels and dimes everywhere.
Tomorrow will be the anniversary of the Bengals opening their first ever indoor practice facility. It will be the second anniversary.
So I guess this means he IS on the hot seat
Mike Brown is not a great owner. But he’s also not a rash one. I don’t see him firing Taylor midseason. Besides, I can think of other, better candidates for a midssason firing… McCarthy, Stafanski, anyone coaching the Panthers…
I’m amazed you managed to list three examples without mentioning Pederson.
A HC can only play the hand he is dealt, which in several cases this season is pretty darn bad (mostly due to injuries). History has shown that in-season coaching changes rarely trigger a drastic improvement from the losing. Of course when the fans starting barking loud enough, they have to be appeased by making someone the fall guy for the disappointing results.
Do we still have to pretend like Joe Burrow is good?
Joe Burrow- Jamarr Chase = Trevor Lawrence.
Joe Burrow – Jamarr Chase = Kenny Pickett
Pitiful team lol can only beat other loser franchises like the panthers or giants. Most overrated team and coach and QB in the league easily.
KC needed a FG at the gun to beat Cincy. Baltimore needed OT to beat Cincy in a game the Bengals should’ve won.
And frankly, my dear, Burrow gives Cincy a fighting chance in every game. Can’t say that for Daniel Jones.
2-4 and can only beat bad teams. Good teams are on the positive side of those outcomes, like the Chiefs, and Ravens…
He needs to be. The Bengals win in spite of Zac Taylor, not because of him. Let Burrow call his own plays, or use the OC. Taylor acts like he’s a great football mind, but he wastes Joe Burrow throwing 10 yard dink passes. He lucked into Joe Burrow, Chase and Mixon and wasted them. He got the job because he was cheap, not because he was a football encyclopedia. I would love to see what a good coach could do with these weapons, but we’ll never find out. He’s the David Bell of the NFL. Hopefully Mike Brown cans this clown before he ruins Burrow.