The Cincinnati Bengals have something rare in this current NFL landscape. Despite being out of the playoffs for each of the last three seasons, they have maintained a pretty strong level of continuity between both their coaching staff and the front office. Zac Taylor has been with the franchise since 2019 when he took over as head coach, and has seen some success at the helm.
While it was a massive struggle at first, finishing 2-14 in his first season (2019) and 4-11 in his second season (2020), Taylor led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in 2021 where it lost a heartbreaker by three points to the Los Angeles Rams. The next season the Bengals lost in the conference championship game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, again by just a field goal.
While they came up short both years, this looked to be the start of a promising era in Cincinnati with Taylor at the helm and Joe Burrow with the keys at quarterback. Unfortunately, things have not materialized that way. Cincinnati missed the playoffs in 2023 with a 9-8 record, again in 2024 with an identical mark, and then last season’s poor 6-11 mark that had them well out of the playoff picture.
Despite three straight disappointing campaigns, Taylor remains as the head coach. But according to a recent article from Mike Sando of The Athletic, one executive believes this could be a do-or-die year for the 42-year-old in Cincinnati.
"They knew they had to fix some stuff on defense," the executive told The Athletic. "It looks like they are saying, ‘You guys have one year to figure this out. Otherwise, we can get out of the coach’s contract.'"
Sando added, "Coach Zac Taylor is reportedly signed through 2027 (the team has announced an extension through 2026 only)."
As the executive noted, the Bengals know they have to fix their defense. They have made several moves already this offseason in order to do that and are widely projected to use their number 10 overall draft pick to bolster their defense even further. This responsibility of course largely falls on the front office, but at some point Taylor will also have to lead some improvement on the field in order to keep his role that he has had since 2019.
This upcoming NFL season could bring the end of an era in Cincinnati if there are not improvements.