Zac Taylor Under More Pressure Than Any NFL Head Coach This Season

The Cincinnati Bengals are poised to have an incredible 2026 NFL season. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, general manager Duke Tobin was under immense pressure to position the team to finally get back to postseason and Super Bowl contention, and he delivered: countless pivotal free agent signings, key re-signings and extensions, and even a draft day trade that has never been done in the franchise’s history. 

Now that pressure shifts to head coach Zac Taylor, who will be the first to take the blame for another disappointing Bengals season, should it happen. The offensive playcaller has led his superstar quarterback, Joe Burrow, to the positions needed for winning football, but time after time, they have fallen short. 

While Burrow has not been a letdown by any stretch of the imagination, he has caused pain to Bengals fans in multiple years where he has struggled to maintain good health. He has failed to play in double-digit games in two of the last three seasons, proving that the team’s ability to contend is slim to none with their $275 million quarterback on the sidelines. 

Many people believed it was time to hand the reins to offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher after such continued failure, but Taylor put it upon himself to do better this season. Speculation was high for the firings of both Tobin and Taylor going into this offseason because of the franchise’s significant disappointment year after year. At the end of the day, 2024 was a perfect representation of a glaring issue with the team because of the unbelievable individual success. 

Burrow led the league in passing yards, Ja’Marr Chase became just the 13th wide receiver ever to win the triple crown (leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns) and just the third in the 21st century, and Trey Hendrickson led the league in sacks. Somehow, the team still finished just third in the AFC North, outlining the issue of coaching and depth. 

Looking at last season in particular, the star-studded Bengals offense did not look similar to the years of back-to-back AFC Championship appearances. They barely cracked the top half of the league in points (12th) and yards (16th) per game, while featuring a poor run game. While they were second to last in the NFL in rush play percentage, the Bengals ranked 22nd in yards per rush, providing very little help to the passing game. 

That aspect wasn’t much better, though. Cincinnati was 24th in the NFL in yards per pass, and only ranked fifth in pass yards per game because of their ranking of second for pass play percentage. It’s obviously difficult to put all the blame on Taylor for the offense’s lack of production when Burrow was out. Had Joe Flacco not provided the spark the team needed in Burrow’s absence, the Bengals might have finished last in the division instead of third. 

Regardless of who is to blame for the past three years, this season is incredibly important for both the franchise and Taylor. Don’t be fooled, the reason will not matter if the Bengals miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year; Taylor will not coach the Bengals in 2027.