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The Bengals are reportedly leaning towards making Zac Taylor the teams new head coach.
Taylor is currently still the Rams’ quarterbacks coach in the NFL playoffs, so no official announcement can be made, but the media has still been reacting to the hire since it was announced Thursday evening.
Here are some of the most interesting thoughts on the Bengals planning to make Taylor the team’s first new head coach in 16 seasons.
Here are some instant reactions by Cincinnati writers:
If hired, Zac Taylor would not be the youngest first-time head coach in the NFL at 35 years (and 7 months). Not even close.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) January 11, 2019
A few who were younger...
Dave and Don Shula
Bill Cowher
Jon Gruden
Mike Shanahan
Mike Tomlin
Sean McVay#Bengals @fox19
They fired Marv
— Mo Egger (@MoEgger1530) January 11, 2019
They didn't give the gig to Hue
They looked outside
They're taking a risk
These are good things.
I have no idea if they got it right. Neither does anyone else.
But I'm a hell of a lot more interested in the Bengals today than I've been in almost 3 years.
That's one of the big questions. Was he hired to help Dalton or hired to bring in the next QB? https://t.co/xZshkwFm0r
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) January 11, 2019
On Zac Taylor as the #Bengals potential hire, Tyler Boyd says he's good with the decision: "If that was the move, I’m fully committed to it. Who doesn’t want an offensive head coach?"
— Fletcher Page (@FletcherPage) January 11, 2019
For once, the Bengals may want their head coach to lose in the playoffs
It’s ironic that a franchise that hasn’t been able to take the next step in the postseason for 28 seasons will be waiting on the outcome of a playoff game Saturday to take the next step toward its future.
People are going to say Zac Taylor isn't prepared to be head coach. Or he was chosen because he "knows" Sean McVay. But if the reports are true and he's the Bengals' next head coach, this is something to be excited about. Marvin Lewis has been all we've know for SIXTEEN years.
— Rebecca Toback (@Rebecca_Toback) January 10, 2019
Mo Egger of ESPN 1530 is a little skeptical of the hire, in part because Taylor’s stint as the Cincinnati Bearcats’ offensive coordinator was one to forget. However, this is still a great move compared to keeping Marvin Lewis or hiring Hue Jackson:
And as someone who watched every snap of Taylor’s offense at UC in 2016, I can’t help but think of how uninspiring the Bearcats were during that miserable season, even if we all admit that the program had started to trend downward way before Taylor arrived in Clifton and that he was instantly handicapped by factors beyond his control.
How did Zac Taylor go from someone that most UC fans couldn’t wait to move on from to someone Bengals fans are being asked to put faith in?
Again, I’m curious.
Here’s what I’m far more certain of: The Bengals have done what we asked, even if they did it a little later than we’d wished. They fired Marvin. They didn’t hire Hue, at least to be their head coach. They’ve hired from outside, they’ve done something a little daring, and they followed the often-prescribed plan of getting a young coach with and offensive background.
These are good things, even if I’m not entirely sure they’ll ultimately result in producing drastically better results.
I am sure of one thing, however. The Bengals with Zac Taylor are more interesting than anything the Bengals have been in nearly three years. They’re a million times more interesting with Taylor than they would’ve been under Hue Jackson, and they’re seven trillion times more interesting than they would’ve been had Marvin gotten a 17th season.
"His greatest asset was his relationship with the players, and the way he worked with the staff was just awesome." https://t.co/QtifZvKtdN
— Fletcher Page (@FletcherPage) January 11, 2019
By hiring Zac Taylor, Bengals will go from a 60 yr old with one of the most old school approaches to a 35 year old QB coach in tune with the hottest brand of football right now.
— Dadio Makdook (@dadiodefacto) January 11, 2019
Bold, and it might not work, but you gotta admire the Brown family for trying something new.
What did a former coach who hired Taylor have to say?
Tommy Tuberville, who hired Zac Taylor at UC.
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) January 11, 2019
"I knew Zac would get one of those (NFL head coach) jobs. Didn't know which one, but he's as good as I've ever been around."#Bengals
More Tuberville: "Zac really knows what he's doing, both in the NFL scheme of yesterday and the NFL scheme of tomorrow. Andy Dalton and him will fit like a glove."#Bengals
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) January 11, 2019
More Tuberville, "When you hire coaches, you want to hire somebody who knows coaches. He's been around coaching his whole life. I think this is a great fit. He's a guy who really fits the #Bengals. A family guy."
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) January 11, 2019
But now we ask, who are the coordinators to support a young coach like Zac Taylor?
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) January 11, 2019
McVay got Wade Phillips. Doug Pederson got Jim Schwartz. Matt Nagy had Vic Fangio.
Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer also thinks Taylor needs to hire a strong group of veteran assistant coaches around him:
Exceptional assistant coaches. Respected coordinators, with deep ties around the league and sharp eyes for talent. Leaders in the locker room who will toe his line and sell his message. Taylor doesn’t arrive wearing a crown of earned respect. He has players very close to his age.
Marvin Lewis was a first-time head coach, but he’d already made his bones in the NFL. Lewis came in with a presence.
It’s time to understand that Sean McVay is exceptional and that some of his gifts aren’t transferable simply by association. “Coaching trees’’ are reserved for coaches who have been around longer than a couple seasons.
Andy Reid has one. Bill Belichick (even as his tree includes Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini). Bill Parcells. Bill Walsh. Tom Landry, for all you OGs out there.
Not Sean McVay. Not yet.
Here is what the national media is saying:
SB Nation wasn’t too high on the Bengals hiring Taylor:
Grade: C+. Taylor’s highest position in the NFL was an interim OC for the Dolphins in 2015. So this is a pretty big leap for him — and for the Bengals. Maybe it’ll work out. Maybe it won’t. But the Bengals are trying something new, and we’re here for it.
A factor not discussed as much in this coaching cycle: For owners, it's harder to draw a rating. It's harder to get fans to the stadium. I think plenty of them watched Rams/Chiefs in November and basically said, "Give me that!"
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2019
Rams QB coach and Bengals’ favorite Zac Taylor was the University of Cincinnati offensive coordinator in 2016, and has strong feelings about the city. It is a place he really wants to be and is expected to now have that chance.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 10, 2019
Bengals fans, a bit on Zac Taylor from our Sept 26 @gmfb — https://t.co/XU68iTipkV
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) January 10, 2019
If Zac Taylor gets Bengals job, the first thing he should do is hire his father in law, Mike Sherman, as assistant head coach. His expertise and experience would be a terrific advantage for a first-time head coach. Kubiak told me once Sherman was the best O line coach he’d seen.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) January 11, 2019
The Bengals Took the ‘Next Sean McVay’ Thing a Little Too Seriously
Taylor is only 35 years old, which is just four years older than the Bengals’ current quarterback, Andy Dalton. McVay, who is just 32, has shown that millennials can be fine head football coaches, but where McVay was an offensive coordinator for three seasons before getting the Rams job, Taylor has spent this season as the Rams’ quarterback coach. Before that he was the team’s assistant wide receivers coach. Not even the actual wide receivers coach—the assistant wide receivers coach.
What are your thoughts on the hire?