Zac Taylor was named the 10th head coach in Bengals history on Feb. 4, 2019. The 2022 season is his fourth in the position after a '21 campaign in which he led the team to an AFC North Division championship, an AFC championship and a berth in Super Bowl LVI.
In three seasons at the helm, Taylor holds marks of 16-32-1 in regular season and 3-1 in postseason. Working with one of the NFL's top young offenses in 2021, Taylor helped guide second-year QB Joe Burrow to a breakout year in which he set team records for passing yardage (4611), TD passes (34) and passer rating (108.3), as well as recording a league-high 70.4 completion percentage. Burrow was named the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year — becoming the second player in franchise history to do so — after missing the final six weeks of his rookie season due to a knee injury. Taylor also oversaw the rapid rise of first-year WR Ja'Marr Chase, who posted the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (1455) en route to winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Chase and fellow WR Tee Higgins (1091 yards) became the first duo in NFL history to record 1000 receiving yards in the same season before the age of 23. Sixth-year RB Joe Mixon further established himself as one of the NFL's premier backs under Taylor, ranking third in the league in rushing yards (1205) and fourth in rushing TDs (13). Overall, the Cincinnati offense finished the regular season in the top half of the NFL in yards (13th, 361.5 per game), passing yards (seventh, 259.0) and points (eighth, 27.1).
Defensively, the Bengals showed marked improvement from 2020 to '21, improving their league ranking in rushing yards allowed (29th to fifth), total yards allowed (26th to 18th) and points allowed (22nd to 17th).
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. Burrow produced one of the most productive starts to a career by a QB in NFL history before a knee injury ended the rookie's season after 10 games. Still, Burrow's 264 completions were the most ever by an NFL QB through their first 10 career games, while his 404 pass attempts were second and his 2688 passing yards were fifth. Defensively, Taylor oversaw the onboarding of seven new starters, and helped Cincinnati hold opposing passers to just a 62.8 completion percentage (sixth-lowest in the NFL).
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 offense and defense. 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 their per-attempt average jumped 1.26 yards (3.17 to 4.43) and they allowed 10 fewer sacks (29 to 19). The team's top four WRs — Boyd, Alex Erickson, Auden Tate and John Ross III — all posted career-highs in both receptions and receiving yards. Defensively, Cincinnati notched 11 more sacks in the second half of of the season compared to the first, and allowed 84.1 fewer yards per game.
Taylor came to Cincinnati after two seasons (2017-18) with the L.A. Rams, where he served as assistant wide receivers coach in '17 and quarterbacks coach in '18. In 2018, he helped guide Rams QB Jared Goff to career highs in every major passing category. Goff ranked fourth in the NFL in passing yards and eighth in passer rating. The Rams' QB play was a key component to their offense, which finished the regular season ranked second in the NFL in total net yards (421.1 per game), fifth in net passing yards (281.7), second in scoring (32.9), first in first downs (401) and fifth in third-down percentage (45.0). Los Angeles won the NFC West with a 13-3 regular-season record and advanced to Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots.
In 2017, Taylor helped oversee an emerging Rams passing offense that ranked 10th in the NFL in passing yards per game (239.4). Taylor directed a Rams' young receiving corps headed by rookie Cooper Kupp, who finished the season with 62 catches, a team-high 869 receiving yards and five TDs.
Prior to his time with the Rams, Taylor had a one-year stint in the college ranks, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Cincinnati in 2016. Taylor 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. Working with Taylor, Tannehill passed for 15,460 yards from 2012-15, the third-most passing yards among all QBs in NFL history in their first four seasons. In his rookie season, Tannehill set franchise rookie records for passing yards (3294), attempts (484) and completions (282). After throwing for 3912 yards in 2013, Tannehill's total of 7207 passing yards were the fifth-most in NFL history by a quarterback in his first two seasons. He tossed a then-career-high 27 TD passes in 2014, the sixth-most in Dolphins history and the most since Marino threw 30 in 1994. Tannehill also set a franchise record with 392 completions, surpassing Marino's 385 in 1994.
In 2015, the year in which Taylor spent the last five games of the season calling Miami's offensive plays, Tannehill completed 363 of 586 passes for a career-high 4208 yards, 24 TDs and a passer rating of 88.7.
Taylor's coaching career began at Texas A&M University, where he served as offensive graduate assistant and tight ends coach under head coach Mike Sherman from 2008-11. The Aggies shared the Big 12 South Championship in 2010 and 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. Taylor had a decorated career with the Cornhuskers, setting numerous school records and passing for 5850 yards and 45 touchdowns. In his 2006 senior season, 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 he 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 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.
