10/26/2025
The Buck Stops Here: Why Zac Taylor Must Be Fired to Save the Bengals' Window
The Cincinnati Bengals, armed with a generational quarterback talent in Joe Burrow and a dynamic arsenal of offensive playmakers, are perpetually touted as Super Bowl contenders. Yet, as critical seasons slip away without achieving their ultimate goal, the spotlight—and the heat—must fall squarely on Head Coach Zac Taylor. While he undeniably led the franchise out of the cellar and to a Super Bowl berth, his consistent coaching deficiencies are now the single greatest threat to maximizing the team's championship window. It is time for ownership to make a difficult, but necessary, change.
The case for Taylor's dismissal is built on three inescapable truths: his catastrophic record without Joe Burrow, a chronic issue with unprepared and slow starts, and the offensive stagnation of a unit he was hired to revolutionize.
1. The Quarterback Crutch: A Dreadful Record Without Burrow
The most damning statistic against Taylor is his performance when his star quarterback, Joe Burrow, is not on the field. Taylor's overall record is respectable, but strip away Burrow's starts, and the coach's individual mark is dreadful (cited in search results as 9-27 or worse).
A championship-caliber coach builds a system that remains competitive regardless of one player's absence. Taylor has failed this test repeatedly. Without Burrow, the Bengals' offense looks predictable, uninspired, and incapable of adapting. This suggests the team's success is a product of Burrow's transcendent play overcoming the coaching, rather than the coaching elevating the team. When your head coach's effectiveness collapses so completely without one player, it's a clear indication that the foundation he built is flawed.
2. Chronic Unpreparedness and Slow Starts
Every season under Zac Taylor seems to follow a similar, anxiety-inducing pattern: a slow, sloppy start to the season that forces the team to play catch-up later. Good, disciplined teams start strong. Taylor's teams routinely appear flat, lose games they should win, and are plagued by mental mistakes, poor clock management, and questionable in-game decisions.
This pattern of unpreparedness is inexcusable. It consistently shortens the team's margin for error, piling up early losses that often prove fatal in a tight AFC playoff race. Whether it's the offense sputtering with seemingly unimaginative play-calling or the team looking undisciplined in key moments, the responsibility for a team's week-to-week readiness lies with the head coach. The consistency of these early struggles suggests a fundamental failure in Taylor's preparation and leadership.
3. Offensive Stagnation and Predictable Play-Calling
Taylor was hired as an offensive guru, yet the Bengals' offense is too often defined by its stagnation and predictability, especially when the core passing attack is stressed.
Critics point to:
A Non-Existent Run Game: Despite Taylor's stated desire to improve the running attack, the Bengals' ground game frequently ranks near the bottom of the league. This one-dimensional offense puts immense pressure back on Burrow and the passing game.
Predictable Scheme: The offense too often relies on Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins simply being better than the defense, rather than innovative play design and misdirection. When the talent advantage isn't enough, the entire operation grinds to a halt.
Game Management Blunders: Poor situational play-calling, particularly in the red zone and late in halves, has cost the Bengals crucial points and wins.
The fact that an offense featuring this level of elite talent can, at times, look so fundamentally inept is a direct reflection of coaching and scheme.
The Verdict
Zac Taylor deserves credit for shifting the culture and overseeing the franchise's most successful recent run. However, the Bengals are no longer trying to crawl out of the basement; they are trying to win a Super Bowl. Taylor's tenure has revealed that he might be a great culture builder and a player's coach, but he is not yet the elite strategist and tactician required to be a championship-winning head coach. His inability to win without Burrow, his chronic slow starts, and his questionable game-day management are all symptoms of a greater problem.
The Bengals' championship window is open now. Wasting years of Joe Burrow's prime on a coaching staff that consistently underperforms when challenged is organizational malpractice. The difficult decision must be made: Zac Taylor should be fired, allowing the Bengals to pursue an elite coach who can unlock the full potential of their star-studded roster and deliver the Lombardi Trophy to Cincinnati. The buck stops with the head coach, and in Cincinnati, that buck has run out.Cincinnati Bengals
