The NFL’s lovefest with all things Sean McVay, at least as far as coaches that have surrounded him, has not stopped despite the Rams defeat in Super Bowl LIII at the hands of the New England Patriots. Zac Taylor, most recently Los Angeles’ QB coach, has officially been named the next head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Given the timing, it would seem apparent that an agreement was reached between the two sides prior to the Super Bowl. Even though it was the biggest game of the season, the 13-3 loss wasn’t enough for the Bengals to rethink their offer to Taylor, and perhaps justifiably so.
“He’s been around football his whole life. He’s been an accomplished player himself. He knows what a successful locker room looks like as a coach and player.” –Duke Tobin, Dir. of Player Personnel
Inside the Search for the Bengals 10th Head Coach ?: https://t.co/WZ7Y5Z1eS7 pic.twitter.com/wgpuABoIaq
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) February 4, 2019
Taylor will become Cincinnati’s tenth head coach in its franchise history. He will replace Marvin Lewis, who held the position for the last 16 years.
Under Taylor’s stewardship, along with the rest of L.A.’s staff, quarterback Jared Goff took huge strides since his rookie season. And if there’s one thing that’s proved to be a pretty foolproof path towards an NFL head coaching gig, it’s aligning yourself with an emerging quarterback.
The new Bengals coach will have his hands full. Last season the team finished at the bottom of the AFC North with a 6-10 record. And the division is suddenly quite a bit more competitive with the improvement of the Cleveland Browns.
Though Taylor would almost certainly say Cincinnati is on its way up, many questions whether that’s the case or if it’s a team that is yet to bottom out.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is situated squarely in the center of those questions. Taylor’s background as a quarterback coach figured to be a huge part of his hiring. At the end of the day, Taylor and Dalton’s job security may end up directly related to the production the Bengals get from the quarterback position.
