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.
