NFL Rumors: Bengals Extend Zac Taylor

February 16, 2022

 

It didn't take long for the Cincinnati Bengals to reward their head coach for delivering the team's first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years. As of Wednesday, the Bengals and Zac Taylor have reportedly reached an agreement for a contract extension that will keep the head coach under terms through the 2026 season.  

In a statement from Bengals owner Mike Brown, he expressed "I think the city of Cincinnati sees him the way the players and I do. He's brought excitement to the town and deserves credit and recognition for that." 

Originally, the Bengals hired Taylor in 2019 to replace Marvin Lewis who spent the previous 16 seasons with Cincinnati and the deal was set for three years. However, over the first two years of Taylor's tenure a record of 6-25-1 began to cast serious doubt over his long-term future with the team; at the start of last season for example Taylor was the betting favorite in Vegas to be the first head coach fired in 2021. 

Much to the surprise of critics and skeptics around the league, the Bengals as we know at this point went on to rewrite their narrative for the 2021 season behind a bevy of successful draft selections from the last two years and few key free agent acquisitions. In 2020, the Bengals secured their franchise signal caller in Joe Burrow with the first overall pick but just as importantly they continually added weapons through the draft as well, such as receivers Tee Higgins and Jamar Chase. On the opposite side of the ball, the Bengals actively added free agents like defensive end Trey Hendrickson who became immediate contributors. It is this core of players, accumulated by Zac Taylor and the Bengals that enabled Cincinnati to win their division and make their way to the playoffs to end a five year drought. 

Despite the season ending in a disappointing manner for the Bengals with their loss to the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, the young foundation that has been assembled makes it seem as if the team is poised for continued success over the next several seasons. It will be interesting this off-season to see how Taylor and the team react to their recent success and how the young coach intends to move forward in how he continues to build and shape his roster. 

Photo Credit © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

 

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