The AFC, like the NFC, is a very cutthroat place to work. Seas of candidates want head coaching gigs, which makes it easy for owners and general managers to chase shiny new options. However, in certain situations, owners and general managers use what they have.
That leads to analysts and experts questioning whether a team’s success depends on its head coach or quarterback. Sometimes, the answer only becomes clear when a coach is fired.
Analyst Puts AFC Head Coach on the Hot Seat
Speaking on the May 16 edition of “Breakfast Ball,” NFL analyst Craig Carton pressed the Cincinnati Bengals to cut ties with head coach Zac Taylor.
.@craigcartonlive says the Bengals are the most likely NFL team to make a coaching change:
"What has Zac Taylor done good in Cincinnati that allows him to just keep his job? Missed the playoffs 4 out of 6 years." pic.twitter.com/1823EEtyh9
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1)
0:12 “What has Zac Taylor done good in Cincinnati that allows him to just keep his job?” questioned Carton. “Missed the playoffs four out of six years. Four out of six years, he’s not even in the postseason. He did make it to a Super Bowl, which is why he’s kept his job for the last four years, but I don’t think he’s a very good coach.”
“He obviously benefits from having one of the best quarterbacks in football. But I speak to Bengals fans a lot because [they’re] usually yelling at me. I don’t think Bengals fans like Zac Taylor either.”
Taylor has the opportunity to defend himself with a 9-8 record put together mostly without Joe Burrow in 2023. However, as Carton might respond, Taylor also finished in fourth place in the AFC North, suggesting the schedule favored the Bengals, as many matchups between division teams are the same.
Lingering Issue Appears To Surround Taylor
Of course, one negative pattern in Taylor’s run has been slow starts. In 2023, Taylor’s Bengals started 1-3. In 2024, Cincinnati started 1-4. It is nearly impossible to get into the playoffs after such starts, let alone get the home-field advantage necessary for a Super Bowl run.
One culprit of starting slow could be the Bengals’ pattern of holding starters out of the preseason. Taylor is a disciple of Sean McVay and appears to have largely brought over the pattern of keeping starters out of the preseason to Cincinnati.
However, this can lead to rust. For instance, in 2024, Burrow threw seven passes in Week 1 of the preseason and skipped the rest of the in-game segment of the preseason. It kept him healthy for Week 1, but set him up to get back into game speed in live action, which could explain his struggle.
Will Taylor adapt to fix the pattern? If Carton is to be taken at face value, his job might depend on it.