Zac Taylor was named the 10th head coach in Bengals history on Feb. 4, 2019. The 2026 season is his eighth in the position.
Through six seasons in Cincinnati, Taylor holds a regular-season record of 52-63-1 and a postseason record of 5-2. In 2025, he once again orchestrated an offense which ranked near the top of the NFL in several metrics, including sixth in net passing yards per game (235.6), fifth in third-down efficiency (43.4 percent) and second in red zone TD percentage (66.7). After QB Joe Burrow sustained a toe injury early in the year that ultimately caused him to miss nine games, the team acquired QB Joe Flacco in a trade with Cleveland, and Taylor helped the 18th-year veteran quickly assimilate in his system. Over his six starts for the Bengals, Flacco ranked second leaguewide in completions (154) and fifth in passing yards (1636). With Burrow behind center for the final six weeks of the regular season, Taylor guided Cincinnati to top-10 league rankings in scoring (sixth; 27.7 points) and total yards (fourth; 369.7).
Taylor also again helped WR Ja'Marr Chase compile an All-Pro season in 2025, as the fifth-year standout finished third in the NFL in receptions (125) and fourth in receiving yards (1412). Chase's running mate, sixth-year WR Tee Higgins, tied for second in the league with a career-high 11 receiving TDs. Taylor additionally continued to expand third-year HB Chase Brown's role in the offense, as he posted his first career 1000-yard rushing season and had a career-high 69 catches for 437 yards.
The 2025 campaign also saw Taylor work with first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden as Cincinnati improved in nearly every statistical metric in the second half of the season compared to the first. Following the team's Week 10 bye, the Bengals tied for fifth in the NFL in takeaways (12) and tied for seventh in sacks (22).
In 2024, Taylor guided the Bengals to their fourth consecutive winning season with a record of 9-8. After falling to 4-8 in early December, he led Cincinnati to five straight wins to vault back into the AFC playoff picture. He oversaw one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses, serving as play-caller for a unit that led the league in passing yards (272.9) and ranked sixth in scoring (27.8). Burrow set numerous single-season Bengals records and led all NFL QBs in passing yards (4918) and TD passes (43), while Chase became the youngest player in the Super Bowl era to win the receiving "Triple Crown," as he paced the league in catches (127), receiving yards (1708) and TD catches (17). The individual performances earned Burrow his second career Pro Bowl nod and the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award, while Chase was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.
In 2023, Taylor led Cincinnati to a 9-8 mark despite a few key players missing time due to injuries. With a healthy Burrow from Weeks 5-10, the Bengals ranked fourth leaguewide in passing (275.6) and seventh in scoring (26.6). Following Burrow's season-ending injury in Week 11, Taylor worked with backup QB Jake Browning as he stepped into the starting role for the first time in his career. Browning ranked second in the NFL in passing yards (1868) over the final seven weeks of the season, and Taylor guided Cincinnati to a 4-3 record to close out the schedule.
In 2022, the Bengals won their second straight AFC North Division title under Taylor and made a repeat appearance in the AFC Championship Game. After entering November with a 4-4 record, he helped Cincinnati tie team regular-season records for consecutive wins (eight) and total wins (12) to earn the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. Offensively, the Bengals ranked fifth in the NFL in passing (265.0) and seventh in scoring (26.1), while defensively Cincinnati held opposing passers to a league-low 59.8 completion percentage.
Taylor led the Bengals to their first division crown in six years in 2021, before winning three postseason games to claim the AFC title and a berth in Super Bowl LVI. Burrow, playing in his first full season in Taylor's system, was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year after leading the league in completion percentage (70.4), while Chase took home Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after posting the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (1455, since surpassed).
In the postseason, Taylor guided Cincinnati to its first playoff win in 31 years, a home Wild Card victory over Las Vegas, before the team went on the road to defeat the AFC's top two seeds, Tennessee and Kansas City.
In 2020, Taylor helped Cincinnati navigate the league's COVID-19 pandemic protocols which included no in-person offseason program. He guided a rookie Burrow to notable production that included the second-most ever completions by a QB through their first 10 career games (264). In 2019, his first season as head coach, Taylor keyed the Bengals to second-half turnarounds on both sides of the ball. Notably, the team's per-game rushing average jumped 70.6 yards from the first half of the season (59.5) to the second (130.1), while Cincinnati's defense allowed 84.1 fewer yards per game in the second half of that year.
Taylor came to the Bengals 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 QB Jared Goff to then-career highs in every major passing category as the Rams won the NFC West and advanced to Super Bowl LIII.
Taylor had a one-year stint at the University of Cincinnati in 2016, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Tommy Tuberville. His first NFL coaching experience came in Miami, where he served as the Dolphins' assistant QBs coach in 2012, QBs coach from '13-15 and interim offensive coordinator for the final five games of the '15 season.
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.
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 spending his final two seasons ('05-06) at the University of Nebraska. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006, after passing for 3197 yards and leading the Cornhuskers to a 9-3 record, an appearance in the conference 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 Taylor, was a defensive back and captain at the University of Oklahoma from 1976-79. Sherwood 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 Chicago Bears.
Taylor was born in Norman, Okla., on May 10, 1983. He earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from the University of Nebraska in 2006. He is married to Sarah Taylor, the daughter of former Green Bay Packers and Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman. They have four children — Brooks, Luke, Emma Claire and Milly.
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 WRs coach, L.A. Rams. 2018—QBs coach, L.A. Rams. 2019-present—Head coach, Cincinnati Bengals.
