Zac Taylor has become one of the most successful head coach hires of the past decade. The leader of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise has overseen the development of franchise QB Joe Burrow and led Cincinnati to a Super Bowl appearance.
These accomplishments pushed the team to reward Taylor with a lucrative contract extension in 2022. How much does Taylor make on that deal?
What Is Zac Taylor’s Salary With the Cincinnati Bengals?
Taylor’s contract extension placed him in the middle of the pack among NFL head coach salaries. He earns about $4.5 million per year, tied for 14th in the NFL alongside the likes of Dan Campbell and Dan Quinn, according to Front Office Sports.
Taylor is entering the third season of extension, which ties him to the team through the 2026 season.
Taylor’s total career earnings as a head coach are a bit more difficult to ascertain. Rookie head coach salaries are rarely made public, so it’s not currently known how much Taylor earned over the first few years of his deal after he was hired to replace Marvin Lewis in 2019.
However, using the $4.5 million number, it’s safe to assume that, should he coach through next season (as can reasonably be expected), Taylor will have earned over $20 million from his contract extension alone.
Taylor received the extension in 2022 following one of the most successful Bengals seasons in team history.
After a pair of dismal campaigns in 2019 and 2020, Taylor was one of the most common names pegged to NFL “hot seat” lists heading into the 2021 season. The Bengals head coach quickly squashed any such ideas, leading the team to a 10-7 record and an AFC North crown.
The 2022 season culminated with a stellar playoff run, in which the No. 4 seed Bengals beat the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card Round and outlasted the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round. The team’s playoff path led to an instant classic against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
A back-and-forth affair was capped off by Evan “Money” McPherson’s 31-yard overtime field goal that sent Cincinnati to the Super Bowl. And though Taylor’s Bengals ultimately fell to his former mentor, Sean McVay, and the Los Angeles Rams, the Bengals head coach had cemented his place as the team’s coach of the future.
Cincinnati’s subsequent two seasons have served as proof of Taylor’s value to the franchise. In 2022, the Bengals put up the best regular season of his tenure, posting a 12-4 record. They reached the AFC Championship Game and faced off against the Chiefs once again, but this time were foiled by Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in a nail-biter last-second loss.
Even the 2023 season, one in which Cincinnati missed the playoffs, was an example of what Taylor means to the team.
Burrow, the team’s franchise QB and most important player, was lost for the season due to injury in Week 11, but Taylor’s Bengals still managed to stay competitive and in the playoff race through the end of the year with backup QB Jake Browning at the helm.
The second half of the season served as a testament to Taylor’s ability to scheme a stable offense and keep the unit’s spirits high in the wake of a devastating setback.
Heading into the 2024 season against a stacked AFC North division and deep conference of playoff contenders, Taylor will once again look to prove his value by coaching the team back to a deep playoff run.