Zac Taylor has had an interesting tenure as the head coach in Cincinnati. The Bengals have made the playoffs just twice in Taylor's six seasons at the helm, but they made it to at least the AFC Championship game both times, and they made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2022 before ultimately falling short of the ultimate goal.
In general, Taylor seems to be well-liked by his players, and he's overseen one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league over recent years. But, his teams consistently start slow, and making the playoffs just a third of the time isn't ideal.
Given his track record, Taylor is a bit of a polarizing coach. Some think he's excellent, others think he's terrible and others still think he's just average. In a recent ranking of all 32 of the league's coaches from Pro Football Talk, Taylor was ranked in the middle of the pack, so the publication clearly thinks that he's closer to the average category than either of the other extremes.
Zac Taylor ranked as 14th-best coach in the NFL heading into 2025 season
Taylor came in ranked at No. 14 on the list, directly ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles and directly behind Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn. Here's some of what was said about Taylor:
"He does seem like a strong leader, navigating a maze of massive egos and trade requests while still cultivating All-Pro campaigns from players like Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson. He’s a solid offensive coordinator.
"He even managed to go 4-4 without Burrow in 2023. There’s just a pervasive sense of 'is this the guy?' You wouldn’t question Andy Reid after two 9-8 seasons, or even Kyle Shanahan. To be fair, there aren’t even that many questions about Taylor. It just seems like we should have more answers by now."
The Bengals have been a middle-of-the-road team for the past couple seasons -- good enough to finish with a winning record, but not good enough to qualify for postseason play. So, it makes sense that they'd land in the middle of these latest coach rankings. Had the Bengals been able to follow up their two consecutive AFC Championship appearances with another postseason berth, Taylor probably would have been higher on the list.
There were some who thought that Taylor might be relieved of his duties following the '24 campaign, but ultimately defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo became the fall guy and Taylor was able to remain in his role. The pressure is on though.
If the Bengals miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2025 after spending big to retain the likes of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki, they could definitely look to go in a different direction at head coach. But, if the opposite occurs and they go on a deep playoff run, perhaps Taylor will be higher on the ranking of coaches next year.
