Zac Taylor and Rams advance in NFL playoffs; Andrew Whitworth ends dreaded postseason drought

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Dallas Cowboys to advance to the NFC Championship.

That means quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor will be coaching in L.A. for at least one more week, thus denying the Bengals a chance to name him the team’s next head coach this week.

While Cincinnati would ideally like to make a hire ASAP, this was actually a good thing for all parties involved.

First, it ensured Taylor and his team have at least some postseason success before he heads to Cincinnati. The Bengals have lost eight-straight playoff games, and it’s no secret former Bengals and coaches have also struggled to win in the postseason even after they left the Queen City.

So ideally, the next coach has some postseason success, and Taylor has that in

But the most obvious reason Cincinnati fans should have been rooting for the Rams Saturday was none other than Andrew Whitworth. A former stalwart left tackle worthy of a ring of honor induction (if the Bengals did that sort of thing), Whitworth had never tasted a playoff win, going 0-6 with the Bengals and 0-1 with the Rams prior to this season.

Whitworth actually owned the record for playoff trips without a win. He deserved a playoff win as much as any player in this league, and at age 37, his time was running out.

Now, Whitworth and Taylor have tasted postseason success, and that alone was worth waiting another week for the Bengals to name their next head coach.