Zac Taylor, Rams QB Coach, Named Bengals Head Coach

The biggest joke of the NFL offseason was that teams were willing to interview anyone who had talked to Sean McVay for a head coaching job.

Zac Taylor Becomes Cincinnati’s New Coach

The Los Angeles Rams coaching staff got picked apart by a handful of teams. Then, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips threw his son’s name into the mix on Twitter. But the joke wasn’t actually real until the Cincinnati Bengals interviewed Zac Taylor.

Taylor spent 2018 as the Rams’ quarterbacks coach. For whatever reason, his one season at the spot left the Bengals confident enough to hire him. Yes, the Rams are coming off a lackluster 13-3 performance in Super Bowl LIII but at this point, anyone can be an improvement compared to Marvin Lewis‘s mediocre 15-year run at the head coaching position.

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“I am happy and fortunate to join the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach,” Taylor said in a statement. “This is a great organization with good people and a rich history, and I am excited to get started. I am looking to add to that history by setting high standards, and holding everyone here accountable to those standards. There is a lot of work to do, and this is day one. We’re going to attack every day with enthusiasm to get this team ready to go.”

Taylor takes over a strange situation in Cincy. The Bengals defense was downright atrocious, ranking last in the league in yards allowed and No. 30 in points. On top of that, there’s uncertainty at the quarterback position. Andy Dalton has a contract that runs through 2020 but the team can move on at no cost right now. Taylor’s first task, though, will be to find a coordinator to turn around the defense. This is a tough job for anybody, especially for someone whose only experience at a coordinator role was on an interim basis in 2015. The AFC North looks to be one of the strongest divisions in football. The Bengals don’t look like a good team.