Zac Taylor is the last AFC North head coach standing.
The second round of the NFL Playoffs hasn't begun, but the Cincinnati Bengals are already the only AFC North team with a head coach. The Cleveland Browns fired Kevin Stefanski and the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh after the regular season, and Mike Tomlin resigned after the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 30-6 to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round.
That leaves Bengals head coach Zac Taylor as the last man standing in the division, and he will keep his job this offseason. The 42-year-old has had the role since February 2019 and has led the team to two AFC North titles, two AFC Championship Game appearances, and one Super Bowl appearance.
However, Cincinnati hasn't made the playoffs since 2022, and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow has had three injury-shortened seasons since being drafted in 2020. The Bengals also finished 30th in football with 28.9 points allowed per game in 2025.
Taylor spoke about what the Bengals must improve on during his end-of-season press conference, via the team's website.
"I think we have to just continue to grow. If you look at our season this year, the last thing I left with our team is the turnover differential," he said. "Where we lost games, we weren't good enough on either side of the ball. That was taking the ball away from teams in the games we lost, that was scoring points for the other team on our offense, we gave up nine touchdowns on offense this year...If you look at some of these one-score games, we didn't do enough. Just possessing the ball and taking the ball away to win the game. It was as simple as that...The turnovers were a big key..."
Cincinnati finished the year tied for 20th in football with a minus-three turnover differential.
Bengals Will Have Most Continuity in AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. © Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY Regardless of what moves the front office makes this offseason, Cincinnati will have a coaching advantage over all of its division rivals. While the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns will all install new staffs over the coming months, the Bengals will have more familiarity and chemistry.
Even if a team hires the best coach of all time, they still have to adjust to a new working environment. It takes time for players, caoches, and executives to learn each others' tendencies which can cause hiccups in the beginning.
Cincinnati has a unique opportunity being the only AFC North team with coaching continuity, but they must take advantage of it.