Zac Taylor was named the 10th head coach in Bengals history on Feb. 4, 2019. The 2024 season is his sixth in the position.
Through five seasons in Cincinnati, Taylor holds a regular-season record of 37-44-1 and a postseason record of 5-2. In 2023, he guided the Bengals to their third consecutive winning season at 9-8, despite a few key players missing time due to injuries. During a five-game stretch from Weeks 5-10 in which QB Joe Burrow was at full health, Taylor oversaw an offense that ranked fourth in the NFL in passing yards per game (275.6), seventh in scoring (26.6 points) and 11th in total yards (354.2). Following Burrow's season-ending injury in Week 11, Taylor worked with QB Jake Browning as he stepped into the starting role for the first time in his career. Over the final seven weeks of the season, Browning ranked second in the league in passing yards (1868) and completion percentage (71.5), and Taylor led Cincinnati to a 4-3 mark to close out the schedule.
Taylor's offense in 2023 once again featured several playmakers, including Pro Bowl WR Ja'Marr Chase, who totaled 100 catches (tied for second most in team history) and became the eighth player ever to reach 1000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons. In addition, HB Joe Mixon had his fourth career 1000-yard rushing season (1034; third under Taylor), while also topping 1200 yards from scrimmage for the third straight year.
Under Taylor in 2022, the Bengals rallied from a 4-4 start to tie a team record for regular-season wins (12) and consecutive wins (eight), earning their second straight AFC North Division title and the No. 3 seed in the AFC Playoffs. With a pair of postseason victories that brought Cincinnati to its second straight AFC Championship, Taylor became the 13th head coach in NFL history to win five of his first six career postseason games. He orchestrated a dynamic offense that ranked in the top 10 leaguewide during the regular season in scoring (seventh, 26.1 points per game), total yards (eighth, 360.5 per game), and passing yards (fifth, 265.0). Burrow earned his first career Pro Bowl selection and was an MVP candidate, as he set single-season team records for completions (414) and TD passes (35), while Cincinnati boasted a pair of 1000-yard receivers in Chase (1046) and Tee Higgins (1029). The Bengals' offensive line featured four new starters, but rapidly improved as the year progressed and allowed no more than two sacks in each of the team's final eight games.
The Bengals also had one of the NFL's most complete defenses in 2022, holding opposing QBs to a league-low 58.9 completion percentage while also ranking sixth in points allowed (20.1 per game) and seventh in rushing yards allowed (106.6).
In 2021, Taylor led Cincinnati to its first AFC North championship since '15, before winning three postseason games to claim an AFC title and a berth in Super Bowl LVI. Burrow, playing his first full NFL season, led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) and set team records for passing yardage (4611) and passer rating (108.3) en route to being named the AP Comeback Player of the Year. Taylor also helped Chase put together one of the top rookie seasons in league history, as the team's first-round pick recorded the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (1455; since surpassed) and won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Defensively, Cincinnati showed marked improvement from 2020 to '21, jumping from 29th in rushing yards allowed to fifth (102.5).
In the postseason, Taylor led the Bengals to their first playoff win in 31 years in a Wild Card victory over Las Vegas. Cincinnati then went on the road to defeat the AFC's top two seeds, Tennessee and Kansas City, to earn the franchise's first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1988 season.
In 2020, Taylor helped transition Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, to the pros, despite the absence of an in-person offseason program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his season-ending knee injury, Burrow had the most completions ever by an NFL QB through their first 10 career games (264). Defensively, Taylor oversaw seven new starters who helped Cincinnati hold opposing passers to the sixth lowest completion percentage in the NFL (62.8).
In 2019, his first season as head coach, Taylor headed off a wave of early season injuries to lead Cincinnati to second-half turnarounds on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Bengals' per-game rushing average jumped 70.6 yards from the first half of the season (59.5) to the second (130.1), while they allowed 10 fewer sacks (29 to 19). Defensively, Cincinnati allowed 84.1 fewer yards per game in the second half of the season, and notched 11 more sacks.
Taylor came to Cincinnati after two seasons (2017-18) with the L.A. Rams, where he served as assistant WRs coach in '17 and quarterbacks coach in '18. In 2018, he helped QB Jared Goff rank fourth in the NFL in passing yards and eighth in passer rating, while the Rams' offense finished second leaguewide in total yards per game (421.1) and fifth in passing (281.7). Los Angeles won the NFC West with a 13-3 regular-season record and advanced to Super Bowl LIII.
Prior to his time with the Rams, Taylor had a one-year stint as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Cincinnati in 2016. He served under head coach Tommy Tuberville at UC.
Taylor broke into NFL coaching in 2012 with the Miami Dolphins as assistant quarterbacks coach. He was elevated to quarterbacks coach from 2013-15, and spent the final five games of '15 as the Dolphins' interim offensive coordinator and primary play-caller, after the team made coaching staff changes. During his time in Miami, Taylor was instrumental in the development of QB Ryan Tannehill, the team's first-round draft pick in 2012.
Taylor's coaching career began at Texas A&M University, where he served as offensive graduate assistant and TEs coach under head coach Mike Sherman from 2008-11. The Aggies played in three bowl games during Taylor's time in College Station.
As a player, Taylor began his college career at Wake Forest (2002-03) before transferring to Butler County Community College in Kansas ('04) and then playing his final two seasons ('05-06) at the University of Nebraska. He had a decorated career with the Cornhuskers, setting numerous school records and passing for 5850 yards and 45 TDs. As a senior in 2006, he was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 3197 total yards and leading the Cornhuskers to a 9-3 record, an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game and a berth in the Cotton Bowl. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Taylor joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a college free agent in 2007, but was waived prior to the start of training camp and never saw NFL action. Later that year, he joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, where he spent one season (did not play).
His father, Sherwood, was a defensive back and captain at the University of Oklahoma, playing under Sooners head coach Barry Switzer from 1976-79. Sherwood Taylor later served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma and Kansas State University. Taylor's younger brother, Press, played quarterback at Marshall University and currently is the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Taylor was born in Norman, Okla., on May 10, 1983. After attending Norman High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from the University of Nebraska in 2006. He and his wife, Sarah, have four children — Brooks, Luke, Emma Claire and Milly. Sarah Taylor is the daughter of former Green Bay Packers and Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman.
Playing and coaching history: 2002-03—Played QB at Wake Forest. 2004—Played QB at Butler County (Kan.) Community College. 2005-06—Played QB at University of Nebraska. 2007—Signed as college free agent with Tampa Bay Buccaneers (released prior to training camp); Was a QB with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL (did not play). 2008-11—Graduate assistant/assistant coach, Texas A&M. 2012-15—Quarterbacks coach, Miami Dolphins. 2016—Offensive coordinator/QBs coach, University of Cincinnati. 2017—Assistant wide receivers coach, L.A. Rams. 2018—QBs coach, L.A. Rams. 2019-present—Head coach, Cincinnati Bengals.
