Bengals Extend Zac Taylor
Last week, we learned significant news for the Cincinnati Bengals:
The Bengals have signed Zac Taylor to a 5 year extension, which means he will be the teams head coach through the 2026 season.
This season was Taylor’s final year on his contract, and with winning total of 6 games in his first two years, this was a prove-it year. And Taylor did prove it.
After the Bengals were one of the leagues worst teams for the last two years, Taylor completely flipped the switch this season. He made the Bengals into one of the scariest teams, led them to their first playoff win in over 31 years, and their first Super Bowl appearance in over 34 years.
Zac Taylor getting an extension after the season he had, was always going to happen, and is deserved. Despite Taylor being critiqued (and the critique is fair, we’ll some of it), what he’s built in his short time here has been incredible. The Bengals are one of the youngest and most dangerous teams in the league. The foundation of the team will be here for a long time. After the season we witnessed, there’s no reason to think that the Bengals won’t attack offensive line in free agency and the draft. Adding more offensive line with the incredibly talented Joe Burrow will just make the Bengals that much more of a threat, and allow Taylor to open up the playbook further.
The Bengals signing Taylor to a 5 year extension shows the organization has extreme faith in the head coach. And they should, after all he’s lead the Bengals to the most success in 30 years. But Taylor is far from a perfect coach. Coaching for just 3 seasons, and still has a lot to learn. We can talk about a his Super Bowl decisions, but every coach makes poor decisions in game time. Issues such as the red-zone offense and personnel decisions have been an issue throughout his entire tenure in Cincinnati (and showed in the Super Bowl)
Do the Bengals have too much faith in Taylor or was this signing fantastic? We won’t know for a few years. But we do know his that the locker room loves him, he’s built a phenomenal culture, and he lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance.
