Taylor,35, was announced as the 10th head coach in the organizations history on February 4, 2019.
After 16 seasons with Marvin Lewis as their head coach, the Cincinnati Bengals and Lewis had decided to part ways after finishing the 2018 season with a 6-win, 10-loss season. Lewis' record through his 16-year tenure in Cincinnati ended with a 131-121-3 record, 0-7 in the playoffs.
*Note: Lewis failed to lead the team to the playoffs since the 2015-16 season*
It seems that Bengals fans finally got what they were asking for. Something new, something fresh, a change at head coach in Cincinnati. After 16 seasons of what a lot of fans have considered a mediocre coaching job by Lewis, mostly because of the lack of post season success in the time, the Bengals fans were granted their wish. However, with this change at head coach, the fans have to be willing to accept everything that comes with it. This means several things. Players may be traded, players may be cut, it could be an upgrade at the position, they could be in the same place as they were with the old regime, it could be a quick turnover. The only thing that is known for sure is that it's going to be different and that's what fans asked for. I ask this question: What if the change isn't good in year 1? What if there's digression in the team and the team finishes with a record of 5-11 or worse? How long do you give the new coach to show improve in the team? The frustration, apparently, in Cincinnati is the lack of postseason success. The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990, long steak in the NFL currently (28 seasons).
The expectations with Taylor shouldn't be to win a Super Bowl coming into this job. They shouldn't be to win a playoff game in his first two season. The only expectations people should have going into this is that he does things different than Marvin Lewis. Bengals fans need to remember that he (Taylor) is a first-year head coach and that he may not have early success like we saw with Sean McVay, Doug Pederson or most recently Matt Nagy. All of the success and failure won't solely rely on Taylor and what changes he brings to the field from a coaching stand point. It will also be on Bengals owner Mike Brown who hasn't been known to open up his pocket book when it comes to free agency, nor has he been know to make very drastic moves before the trade deadline. So the fans in Cincinnati can't only hope that Taylor is the change that is needed for the Bengals, but that Mike Brown is willing to change as well and become more aggressive during free agency, before the trade deadline and even during the NFL draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in new hands with former Rams' quarterback coach Zac Taylor and right now he's still the unknown from a head coaching stand point. However, we know he's NOT Marvin Lewis and that's all that Bengals fans had been wishing for.
The Bengals have hired former Oakland Raiders quarterback coach Brian Callahan as their new offensive coordinator. As of now, they (Bengals) are still without a defensive coordinator.
