Bengals likely to interview Zac Taylor on Friday

Zac Taylor was the first reported coach outside of the organization that the Bengals requested an interview for.

Now, he’ll be the first outside coach that the team will interview, as Taylor will likely interview with Cincinnati this weekend, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB:

Taylor is eligible to speak to teams this week because the Rams have a bye through the first round of the NFL playoffs. However, future interviews would have to wait until the Rams have been eliminated from the playoffs or until the week after the NFC Championship.

Taylor is quickly becoming a hot commodity in the NFL, as he’s also set to interview with the Cardinals and Broncos this weekend. It’s good to see a potential Bengals candidate is someone that other teams are interested in, something that won’t be true for in-house candidates like Hue Jackson, Bill Lazor and Darrin Simmons.

Taylor, 35, has been coaching in the NFL since 2012. He entered the league as an assistant quarterbacks coach with the Dolphins and spent four years in Miami before joining the Cincinnati Bearcats’ staff in 2016 as their offensive coordinator.

Taylor was hired by the Rams in 2017 as an assistant wide receivers coach before being promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018. He’s helped the Rams’ passing game become one of the most explosive attacks in the NFL, as they’ve ranked 10th in total offense in 2017 and second this past season.