Bengals’ Zac Taylor Reveals Plan for Joe Burrow’s 7th NFL Season

The partnership between Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor enters its seventh season with expectations as high as ever. Taylor joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 and went 2-14 in his first season before Burrow joined the franchise a year later.

Together, they transformed the Bengals into AFC contenders, producing top-five passing offenses in every healthy Burrow season, reaching two AFC Championship Games and advancing to Super Bowl LVI.

But the stakes for both parties are particularly high in 2026. Taylor has been identified as one of the NFL’s head coaches under the most pressure entering the season after the Bengals finished 6-11 and spent the offseason rebuilding their defense with big money signings. 

Although Cincinnati has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, the relationship between quarterback and head coach has remained strong.

In an exclusive with Bleav Network’s Solomon Wilcots, Taylor revealed on Friday that Burrow’s confidence will always be the priority when calling plays next season. 

“I don’t want the starting quarterback out there running a play they don’t have total confidence in.”

Taylor’s latest comment comes barely two weeks after he confirmed on ESPN’s The Rich Eisen Show that Burrow has more influence over Cincinnati’s offense than at any point in their partnership.

“There are certainly moments in the game where maybe I got two calls, and I’m going to give Joe both calls,” Taylor said. “And I want him to be comfortable in the one he selects going into the huddle. The last thing I want is to be a dictator with it.”

Taylor also told Wilcots why Burrow has earned that responsibility.

“Now that he’s going into year seven, he’s seen everything,” Taylor said. “So he’s got all the answers to the test. He’s seen every look somebody can throw out. He knows how to attack all the defenses.”

The approach gives Burrow an uncommon level of control over the offense. Rather than simply executing the play sent in from the sideline, he is trusted to choose between multiple options based on the defensive look, game situation and his comfort level with each concept.

Taylor even admitted Burrow regularly suggests additions to the weekly game plan.

“His favorite thing to do is text me like 15 minutes after we really nail down the base pass install with a couple of new ideas. I’m like, all right, here we go — we’ll throw it in there,” Taylor said.

He added that Burrow’s leadership extends well beyond selecting plays.

“The expectation when he walks on the field, he says to huddle, everybody knows what time it is when he walks out there and is ready to roll,” Taylor said. “He’s done such a great job just distributing the ball to all of our weapons, knowing that they can all win in different situations. That’s what he takes great pride in, just being a deliverer of the ball and getting it where it needs to go based on what the defense is telling us to do.”

Seven years into their partnership, Taylor is placing more responsibility in Burrow’s hands than ever before. Owner Mike Brown also acknowledged the urgency after last season.

“We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success.”

Burrow has publicly backed his head coach throughout that stretch.

“I’m very confident in our coaching staff,” Burrow said after the 2025 season finale. “I know those guys work really hard to put us in good positions and I always feel well prepared and put in the best spot to succeed.”

With Cincinnati looking to end a three-year playoff drought, that level of trust for both quarterback and head coach could define the Bengals’ 2026 season.