Bengals president Mike Brown began the offseason Monday morning with a statement of support for head coach Zac Taylor and director of player personnel Duke Tobin.
"Our focus is on building a team that can consistently compete at the highest level, with the goal of winning championships," Brown said in a statement released hours after the Bengals finished the season. "After thoughtful consideration, I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward.
"They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success."
The statement comes in the wake of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow coming off injured reserve to lead Taylor's high-powered offense to the most touchdown passes in the AFC and the defense holding foes to fewer than 18 points per game in the season's final eight games.
The Bengals are also sticking with Tobin, the NFL's Executive of the Year in 2022 who has helped to oversee two of the most successful eras in Bengals history. The drafts were the heart of head coach Marvin Lewis' five straight playoff berths and produced Pro Bowlers A.J. Green and Geno Atkins, and in this decade, Ja’Marr Chase has matched Green with five Pro Bowl teams in his first five seasons.
Despite his quarterback missing nine games, the Super Bowl duo of Taylor and Burrow chaired a system that produced a top-five season in 1,400-yard receiver Chase, another top-five finisher in receiver Tee Higgins’ 11 touchdown catches and running back Chase Brown’s first 1,000-yard rushing season.
At 100.7, Burrow produced his fourth season with a passer rating of 100.0 or higher to break the NFL record held by Peyton Manning (3) for the most triple-digit seasons by a No. 1 overall selection with the team that drafted them.
And for the first time since that 2021 Super Bowl season, Burrow led the AFC in touchdown pass percentage. The Bengals are choosing to keep this mutual admiration society intact.
"I'm very confident in our coaching staff," Burrow said after Sunday's finale against the Browns. "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."
They also go into the offseason with their best offensive line in the Taylor Era in the fold and an emerging star in 2024 first-round pick Amarius Mims at right tackle. Going into Sunday's season finale, Mims' pass-rate efficiency rated sixth among tackles according to The Athletic and he didn't allow any sacks or pressures in the game. 2025 third-round pick Dylan Fairchild was the second-highest graded qualified guard in pass blocking in his draft class, per Pro Football Focus. According to NFL historian Ryan Michael, the offensive line finished tied for 10th in NFL sack-percentage, the first time the Bengals finished in the top ten since 2014.
Mims and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. are key to the demanding one-on-one protections for Burrow's pass-first offense. As well as something else that Brown feels Taylor's program fosters.
"Culture," Brown says. "It's our foundation. As long as we have our leaders show up, and we do, that's the key for the future."
C Ted Karras points to Brown and others and says, "I think a big part of the (O-line) room's success is that we do have veteran professionals leading the charge."
The Bengals covet that consistency, and after an upheaval last offseason on the defensive side of the ball, it looks like they're going to get it from an emerging core of young leaders and playmakers that led the defensive resurgence in those eight games after the bye.
The Bengals can go right down their 2023 draft board starting with first-round edge Myles Murphy. He had four of his career-high 5.5 sacks in those last eight games and went into Sunday's finale working on a skein of games with multiple quarterback pressures.
Cornerback DJ Turner II, their Defensive Player of the Year, a second-rounder in 2023, was endorsed by Taylor, Burrow and defensive coordinator Al Golden for the Pro Bowl. He was voted an alternate, but the grades and numbers suggested much more. He led the NFL in passes defensed much of the season and recorded the most for the Bengals since the golden age of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph on the 2009 corner.
And safety Jordan Battle, a third-round pick in 2023, led all NFL defensive backs in tackles and was the only DB to have at least four interceptions and 100 tackles.
That '23 trio anchored a run that turned the ball over 13 times in the last seven games after the defense netted nine in the first 10 games. Sunday's six-sack game against Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was a season-high.
That kind of continuity that took off in the last half of the season with that blending of youth and experience seem to be the underpinnings of the offseason.
"We are taking a hard look at everything we do as we approach this offseason with focused determination to build a championship-caliber roster that wins consistently," Brown said in the statement. "We are fully committed to delivering results that match the pride, passion and expectations of this organization and our fans."
