There’s an underrated factor in the talk around Zac Taylor’s job with the Cincinnati Bengals and what the future might hold:
Joe Burrow.
No stats, reasoning or evidence would seem to mean much in the conversation if Burrow wants Taylor to stay because he thinks they can win together.
And it sure seems to be trending that way. A new coaching deep dive from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano suggests as much:
“This quote from a source close to Burrow is a good sign: “He loves it there and thinks he can win a Super Bowl with them.”
Questions persist about whether Taylor did enough with a maligned offensive line to protect Burrow. But the Bengals are in the process of phasing out older veterans, which takes time, and five of their losses this season were by five points or fewer. They were in almost every game they played prior to the Burrow injury. Because of all that, there’s a loose belief that Taylor could get another year. But a spirited finish would certainly help erase the doubt.”
That supposed quote doesn’t actually say anything about Taylor. But Burrow and Taylor have been blatantly on the same page since Day 1, so this isn’t too much of a surprise.
Granted, how much credit Taylor should receive for merely working well with a generational quarterback prospect is hard to say — but plenty of franchises have failed miserably by pairing the wrong coach with a first-round passer. Still, Taylor is 4-23-1 as he nears the end of his second season.
It’s on the Bengals front office to decide if the right coach-passer pairing is more important than overall performance, and if that pairing will eventually compensate for the rest.
