Ross Tucker ranks Zac Taylor as the 12th-best NFL head coach

Two years into Zac Taylor’s tenure as Cincinnati Bengals head coach, many argued it was already time to move on.

Now, per Ross Tucker of the 33rd team, Taylor is ranked as the 12th-best head coach in the NFL.

“Two years ago, I might have had him ranked dead last on this list. What a difference a couple of years and a guy named Joe Burrow can make, although Zac Taylor’s staff, including defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, is really impressive,” Tucker wrote.

After posting a 2-14 debut season of 2019, followed by a 4-11-1 2020 campaign, Taylor was off to a historically bad start to his tenure with the Bengals.

But then a healthy Joe Burrow came along, and Taylor’s offensive vision was put into action.

The Bengals won the AFC North with a 10-7 record and then stormed its way to Super Bowl LVI, narrowly losing to the Rams.

Last season the Bengals won a second straight AFC North title by posting a 12-4 record and won its first two playoff games over the Ravens and Bills before falling to the Chiefs in the AFC title game.

Despite the success of the last two seasons, Taylor is still 28-36 as a head coach, and his wins can disputably be largely inflated by Burrow’s success making the No. 12 spot a seemingly fair ranking.

Here are Tucker’s full rankings of the top 32 head coaches in the NFL:

1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
2. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
3. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
5. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
7. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
8. Brain Daboll, New York Giants
9. Pete Caroll, Seattle Seahawks
10. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars
11. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
12. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
13. Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans
14. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
15. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
16. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
17. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
18. Arthur Smith, Atlanta Falcons
19. Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders
20. Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers
21. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys
22. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
23. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
24. Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers
25. Robert Saleh, New York Jets
26. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
27. Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
28. Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears
29. Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders
30. Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
31. DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
32. Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals