Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Did the Cincinnati Bengals make the right call to retain Zac Taylor?

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

Did the Cincinnati Bengals get it right in firing Lou Anarumo, Frank Pollack, some defensive assistants, but keeping Zac Taylor? Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down the decisionmaking around keeping Taylor but reshaping the defensive staff, then get into some of the reported DC hires and potential candidates for the job.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxReady for stress-free taxes and the most money back, guaranteed? Head over to TurboTax.com today and get matched with your Expert—who’s ready to take your taxes off your plate, so you can focus on your day.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The first names in the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator search have surfaced, but before we get to that, did the Bengals make the right decision to retain Zach Taylor? Let's break it down. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Locked On Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liskow. He's your host, James Rapine, and we are.

are Locked-on Bengals, which I tried to show you on my shirt on YouTube and you couldn't quite see. Your head's too big. Heads too big. We're part of the Locked-on podcast network here on Locked-on Bengals covering your team every day. We're on YouTube. We're everywhere you get your podcast.

Welcome back to the everydayers. We appreciate all of you so very much in a very interesting time of year immediately into the off-season for the Bengals as we're talking about defensive coordinator candidates right away. and there will be coaching searches to talk about and plenty of free agency to talk about as well. We'll get to some of the off-season priorities this week. But today, James, we're going to start with the Zach Taylor topic, which we didn't get to yesterday in the wake of the coaching changes

of Bengals did make. Today we'll dive into the coaching change they did not make in an episode brought to the people by a Fandul where you can place a $5 bet, and if you win it, you'll get $200 in bonus best. Check it out at Fan. handle.com to get started. James, the Bengals do the right thing by electing to retain head coach Zach Taylor.

I think there are a lot of people that are going to say hell no, right? They're going to say there's no way you can retain Zach Taylor. And I get it. I mean, you could look at his record. You could look at his division record. You could look at the past two years, the one score games at one point this year. they were one in seven and one score games, the game management stuff. There's a lot of arguments you can make against Zach.

And I think the best one, the absolute best one is, and it's sort of subjective, but you look at the division, you look at the conference, and I get it, he's won the conference. But do you feel like Zach Taylor is going to go out coach Andy Reed or out coached coach this guy or out coach that guy. And I would start in the division, and I think that's an interesting question. It's a tough division. Three really good head coaches for my money in the division outside of Zach Taylor. And so that to me is the best argument is it's like, yeah, good guy.

I do think he's a good coach. But can you get better there? And the Bengals obviously like him. They like the relationship that him and Joe have. I think that's a big part of it here of the restructure around him. And so I would have gotten it if they had said, all right, we can't continue to waste Joe Burroughs Prime. So if they had gone that way and gotten rid of him, I would have understood it. I also understand what they did, at least to this point, we'll see who they get,

but retooling around Zach in trying to give him another shot. to get this right. So I understand why they kept Zach Taylor. You say that the biggest argument is could they get better there? And to me, the biggest argument would be if you wanted to move off from Zach is the slow starts just cannot continue. The slow starts have been something this team has overcome, but they haven't overcome them to the tune of being in that first overall seed in the AFC conversation that have been our expectations when we've talked about where this team should be with the level of quarterback play they've had the last couple of years, where that should have been their goal.

And instead, last year, Joe Burrow got hurt. This year, Joe Burrow healthy or healthy enough, even if he wasn't completely healthy early in the season, and he's talking about he'll be better next year with more space between the wrist injury of the present, they missed the playoffs. And that goes back to not getting out of the gates quickly enough. And these reportedly, and we've seen them obviously, softer training camps. I thought they stepped up the intensity in this year's training camp in 2024's training camp a little bit. But it was still described by many of your colleagues on the beat as a soft training camp.

And I'll let you give your thoughts there as well. Name them. Did they? I don't read there. I don't see a lot of it. I was listening to Paul and Jay last night. And they maintain that it was still a soft training camp this year. I did think that the intensity ramped up.

But that would be where I would start is you can't get off to these slow starts every year. At some point, they're too much to overcome. We saw this year that they were too much to overcome. And then you can throw a whole bunch in there. I could honestly see it go either way. I do think Zach is probably a better coach than the people that really want to see him gone, give him credit for. I do think that that relationship with Joe Burrow matters a whole lot. The remaking of your entire offensive philosophy and scheme around your quarterback to attune of a highly productive offense that at times is hard mode to the point that it is detrimental would be something in Zach Taylor's favor and a feather in his cap.

Joe Burrow plays a unique style of football and they do it quite well. But on the other hand, you look at these slow start issues and take the team as a whole in some of the under. achievement on the whole and some of the proclivity to veterans and trying to understand where Taylor fits into the front office picture of bringing in the wrong guys sometimes and also giving sympathy to Taylor for being the mouthpiece of the organization sometimes because the front office doesn't talk. It does become pretty tied up and a difficult question to answer a strictly yes or no did they do the right thing, which I think we should do before the end of the segment. Yeah, and we can. What if I told you that these slow,

starts that everyone's talking about are so circumstantial, including this year. At least that that's what I would say if I was Zach Taylor. Now he can't come out and say that, right? He said, oh, we're going to work like hell to get off to a stronger start and all of those things. And it's true. But did they, did they or did they not fire their defensive coordinator? They did. Okay. Well, if I'm Zach Taylor, I would say the reason we started slow this year is because of our defensive coordinator. It was because, and that defense, even though they give up 16 points against the Patriots wasn't good against that crap offense in New England. The week after, you give up 26th of the Chiefs.

You can't get off the field on fourth down. I know they played well on defense. The week after what happens? Jane Daniels slices and dices him up for 38. The week after, on their home field, 41, Lamar Jackson. So the defense was off. They were putting up 25, 33, 34. It's just that first week with Joe coming back, the weird stuff with the front office.

all of those things. So I understand it. What would I have done? I'll be honest. And I've said this behind closed doors. I probably would have went big fish hunting. I'd probably have Mike Rabel in town interviewing for the head coaching job right now from a mentality standpoint.

I would have probably made sure that Bill Belichick knew long before the UNC job was his, that, yeah, we would be interested, but let's get through the season. And that's probably where my head would have gone. Now, they were in playoff contention until week 18, that he kept that locker room together. There's a lot of benefits. But I'm not just going to fire Zach to not know who I would be interviewing. It would be like, who do you think is an elite football coach? Like last year, I'm sure the Chargers were like, oh, well, we're going to go get Jim Harbaugh,

because we know he's an elite coach. And he is, by the way. And so who do you think that is? Is that guy available? is that are they going to be willing to come in? Like you do all the back channel stuff first. So that's what I would have done before making the move. Because I'm honest, it's making the move to make the move.

You make the move because you want to get the best coach in the AFC North. One of the best coaches in football. And I don't think outside of Cincinnati, certainly not in Cincinnati, but some think he's a really good coach. But outside of Cincinnati, I don't think Zach Taylor is viewed as an elite head coach. So that's probably where I would have went. There's a lot of back channeling, seeing who was possible. and then the moment they become possible,

then you make your decision. And I would have been interested in some of the offensive guys out there, too, Joe Brady and Ben Johnson. Yeah, Ben Johnson primarily, but also Joe Brady. I don't know. There's fit questions, and yeah, the offense was good, but then there were times, and I went back and I looked at every game where they had chances to win the game, like clutch drive opportunities.

The offense did let them down in those moments. And I think that goes back to some of the stylistic stuff between Joe and Zach that they've gotten to where latent games, when there's no threat of a run game to close out a game when you need a close out drive and they can't close out a drive on the ground. And you're asking Joe to just drop back past go Superman mode. It's just hard. And Joe's better at that than almost anybody, if not anybody in the NFL. But it was hard this year. And more often than not, on both sides of the ball, they had. second half clutch moment letdowns that led to them losing a lot of those close games.

And that's on both sides of the ball. And so I would have been very open to a new direction and cleaning house. But at the same time, like I said, the mitigating factor primarily that that relationship that Zach has with Joe Burrow and some of the other stars on this team can understand why they want to give him a little bit more rope. But I do think that leash is tight going into 25. And we can finish a conversation there before we get into some of the DC. candidates that we've heard about and that are still out there that we haven't heard about yet coming up next.

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And I got to look here. I'm looking, Jake, the Washington commanders underdogs to the bucks last I checked on Fandall. I think that one's interesting. The Ravens, do you think Lamar Jackson is going to get tense against the Steelers? You think he's going to crush them? Either way, get in on all the action right now at fandle.com to join today and get started with $200 in bonus bets with fandle. make this playoff season unforgettable with fandle and fandle.com. One quick thing, one quick thing on Joe in the relationship,

because a lot of people, and the Bengals clearly value that. And a lot of people look at that. I do wonder if, and this is going to be a 2025 question, like if they aren't 12 and 5, 13 and 4 a year from now, even if they're 10 and 7, and it's just like, yeah, they find a way to get into the playoffs. But I wonder if it's like, all right, well, that relationship does need to need to change. Who cares if Joe Burrow is a big Zach Taylor fan?

That's the only coach he knows. And that would have been my logic with the back channeling of the whoever your high-end coaches are. Obviously, I hold Mike Rable and Bill Belichick in a class of their own. I think of the guys that are available because they've been there, done that. I think they would be able to be the mentality change so. speak and I think that could help Joe as well but maybe that this offensive line chain maybe the defensive corner maybe that's enough in this relationship is what you can build your organization around I just think it's interesting because a lot of people say it's a positive but we might be

not even a year away from looking at it as like all right it's it's time for a change it's time to to tweak things around Joe even if he doesn't want to necessarily tweak them because he loves Zach. Yeah, at some point there may need to be necessary changes to make your, make your offense more complete. And that was the other topic, James, is 2025 a short leash year? Is that an option? I'm not saying this in terms of the defensive coordinator search necessarily, but do you think that a potential DC is looking at this and saying, well, if we don't get it right this year, not that you would think that. Most NFL coaches are very confident that they will get the job done. but if we don't get it done this year

does that mean this whole thing's getting blown up does that mean they're looking at damn pitcher as a potential head coach and looking at blowing up a whole lot of this staff and letting Zach Taylor go and Zach Taylor certainly going to have a lot of a lot of lead in terms of determining who the next DC is but that was the other topic is

how short do we think that leash is now because the well we're going to fire half the staff button has been pushed. And I think we said yesterday, you don't can do that multiple times. This is most likely the one time you get to do it, even in Cincinnati, where you have the owner that is the patron saint of NFL, third, fourth, and fifth chances. How short do we think that leash is in 25? I think if I'm interviewing for this job and we're going to get into some of the candidates they

are interviewing, I would say, yeah, Zach, you have two years left on your deal. talk an extension. Are you discussing an extension with the franchise right now? Like, where is that at? I would ask the front office that as well and kind of gauge it because there's no doubt his seat is hot. Like, let's just say it. Like, you don't get to do this and then start four and eight.

Let's say they start four and eight again next year. And then expect, oh, well, it's just the first year. It's just, ah, no, no, no. Like, unless there's obvious injuries, the key guys and not. on wood, hopefully we never have to discuss that again, there's really no real reason why that should be the case. Obviously, they need to build around Zach and give him, uh, address some of these weaknesses on the roster. But yeah, I think there's pressure there. And so would that deter some of these candidates, the Dennis Allen's of the world, the Robert Salas of the worlds? I don't know the world.

I don't know because on one side, I think it's a ready made job where you can handle the defense and handle your unit on the other side of it, yeah, if you start slow, I don't think they would ever fire Zach mid-season, but man oh man, would it be, what would it be, is it possible that a year from now we're talking about the head coach not having a job? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a possibility that that happens if you get it wrong. Yeah, I think that there are high expectations, obviously in the organization, and there's this idea of accountability. And Zach saying that I you know it's put it on me we need to figure out how to get out of the gates faster and and part of that is getting Joe Burrow to play like Joe Burrow immediately part of that is

the defense part of that is an inconceivable at this point lost to the new england patriots in the first week of the season where the entire team just lets you down and that's just like a how do you get out of the gates faster kind of moment kind of question in retrospect I think the leash has to be short for Zach in in 25 there have to be high expectations and if he fall short of those expectations there need to be difficult conversations and difficult decisions by this bengal's ownership group and a lot of people also want to talk about duke tobin and ownership and i get it i hear you i don't think there is really any indication that duke's job from the ownership perspective is in jeopardy right now.

I would be surprised if it were. I would be surprised to learn that if we were to somehow learn that. And obviously ownership is ownership. The Bengals are not, you know, sussing out potential buyers. They're getting the next generation ready to take on more and more responsibility. And that's what the family's plan seems to be right now. So I don't think that we can expect much in terms of change in those departments. as much as we would like to see additional scouts hired and additional analytics staff hired and all this stuff,

the modernization of contract structures. What we do know they're changing right now is the coaching staff to some degree. And so that's why that's where our focus is right now. By the way, the seat gets even hotter if they do change the way they structure contracts and they do get Jamar done and they do get T done and they do extend Trey. And I think there's a reason to believe that, well, they should put it that way. Right. And so if they do that and they're aggressive and free agency and they restructure Joe and they clear more cap space and they address this need and that need, which they should do all of those things. Personnel-wise, they should be as aggressive as they've ever been in the history of the franchise tenfold this offseason. But if you get off to a slow start or you're around 500, the powers that be are going to be like, what are you talking about?

Like we could get this with doing our one year of guaranteed money, with doing all of the things that we've done historically. So that's the other element here is it's not just paying Luanarumo for a year to go away and adding a whole new staff defensively, essentially, around them. And it's not everybody, but it's a decent amount. And a new offensive line coach, you got to see results, especially if the front office does what the front office should do. because yeah, I get it.

You know, Duke has taken a lot of heat. But these coaches, this front office, they probably wanted to keep. You don't think Duke wanted to keep Jesse Bates? And it's the way they structure things that keeps them from keeping Jesse Bates. It's why Joe Burrow is stomping around saying T. Higgins. He might have stomped around all yesterday in the snow. Hey, T. Higgins, T. Higgins, T. Higgins, just to hammer at home. I hope he did, actually, all the way up to Mike Brown's office.

because that's what they need to do. You don't want Zach coaching from a, not with a hand tied behind his back. That's not the right word. But you don't want this governor on what they can and can't do financially. And so sell more advertising, do whatever you need to do. But I think they have plenty of cash and they've got to just change the way they view it. No handicapping.

And Paycor was bought apparently for like $4.something billion. Is that number correct? I don't remember what the number was. It's in the process, I think, from paychecks. Yeah. Yeah. So some. Paychecks.

Paychecks Stadium. Some transactions happening with the name. Get your paychecks. Get your paychecks. Get your paycheck. Let me get a dollar. Let's dive into some. Two dollars.

Two dollars. As we've wrapped up the Zach Taylor topic for now, we'll get into the reported names that the Bengals are set to interview and some of the other candidates to finish up the show next. It's playoff time. And if you're like me, you want to make the most of these final weeks of football action. Obviously, all the season-long fantasy football leagues are over. That's where prize picks comes in. Because if you love football and you want a chance to win real money while watching the playoffs,

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He was the New England Patriots defensive coordinator this season. locked Joe Burrow down to just 10 points in week one. I'm not sure if you're aware, but they brought him. All right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. They're also interviewing Patrick Graham. Well, I think as an intriguing candidate, he was the defensive coordinator for the Raiders for the past three seasons.

His contract is up. He's been a defensive coordinator in a bunch of spots, worked with Bill Belichick, worked with Brian Flores, and so two guys, both of which come from that New England coaching tree. Yeah, very interesting that the first two coaches, the Bengals, are looking to interview, have very close ties to the Belichick tree. Every job, Patrick Graham, who was the first reported candidate for the Bengals D.C. job that they were set to interview that he's had in the last seven years, six years, has been a hire by a coach that he worked with with the Patriots. And he was with the Patriots for a long time, was Patrick Graham from 2009 until 2015.

He went with Charlie Weiss to join the Bill Belichick staff back in the day. And then Brian Flores hired him to go work with him in Miami. And in Miami, he was Brian Flores, D.C. And then Joe Judge, another former Bill Belichick coaching tree guy, hired him to go be the associate head, sorry, assistant head coach in D.C. in New York. And then Josh McDaniels brought him to Vegas where he was retained to work with Antonio. O. Pierce. And obviously, these guys both coming from two of the worst teams in the NFL in 2024. So perhaps not a ton of direct confidence in either of them, but both of them do have

reasons to believe they could be good defensive coordinators, both relatively young to Marcus Covington, just 35, younger than me, James, and Patrick Graham, just 45, older than me, but still relatively young as far as... We're talking about your age a lot this week. Well, you know, it's kind of a running joke now. The, the, still young in terms of NFL you're worried about 40.

40's right around the corner. You worried about that? Corners are pretty long corner for, for me. Not quite there. You're pretty close. I disagree. The,

how old are you? 36. The point is that they've got a couple of candidates here on the younger end that will be seen as potential risers if these were the guys and Bengals were interested in hiring. And that's where they're starting.

I do not think that that is the end of the search. There are probably other names that they have contacted or are looking to contact that just haven't been reported as of the time of us recording this episode, James. And I think that they'll probably be looking in the college ranks. They'll be looking in the pro ranks. They'll be looking for up-and-comers. I don't think that they're closed off from former D.C.'s. As you can see, their first two interviews are guys that have NFL defensive coordinator experience.

So there are a lot of directions they could go here. Let's talk about some of the more attractive potentially, D.C. candidates. James, who do you want them to go after? Well, maybe 37-year-old Jake Liscoe. They could hire him in June. I had to look up your birthday. I'm like, oh, it's right around the corner. We're not far.

And then it is right around the corner. Then it is. You get to seven. I think eight. I think eight for me. It's always been it. I've always defined like the middle years. And then eight as a late years.

Man, oh, man. Let's be honest here. You're talking to a guy who, like, 20 minutes ago, said Bill Belichick and Mike Rabel for head coach, right? Like, that was what, that's, like, I go big fish hunting. That's what I want. If you're going to fire Lou, a guy who's proven to be a good defensive coordinator, and I get it, fine.

Well, then go get the best guy. And Bob Sala, Robert Sala, is the best defensive coordinator available in my mind. I think that would be the one. I get it. You're talking about a strong personality. I'm not sure how long he would be here. I'm sure he's thinking of getting another job that isn't with the Jets long term. Don't care. It's about 20, 25 for me. And it should be for Zach, because if you don't win in 25, you might not win in 26. And so getting, because you might not be here. So getting the right guy, it matters, no doubt. But you got to win right away to. And so I think there's a delicate balance there.

And I do wonder if you're Zach Taylor, if you ignore. And I don't think he needs to. It's been thrown out there, though. Like you ignore the top candidates because you're worried about your seat being hotter. And here's why I don't think that that's an issue because you have the relationship with Joe Burrow. So like it's not like they're going to be like, oh, well, we have a guy we could turn to midseason. Like, it's not going to happen midseason. It's just not.

And so you really don't need to worry about that. You need to find the guy that's going to put you in position to win and get off the field in these key situations and these key moments. And so whoever that is. And maybe it is one of these guys. Maybe it is DeMarcus Coving then. I'm not going to dismiss that. And maybe it is one of these guys from the Belichick coaching tree

that has obviously produced, I think, a lot of good defensive coaches. Now, they haven't had a lot of success as head coaches. Who cares? That's not what you're looking for. So whether it's Patrick Graham or DeMarcus Coving. then I do think that both are candidates for a reason. Yeah, I'm with you on Robert Sala. I think that that's a obviously tricky situation he comes from.

Yeah, go get him. With the Jets, but the results split of the defense in New York from before and after he was fired this year is Stark. And I think that he's easily the best D.C. candidate out of guys that you know what they have done running defense. defenses in the past. I was talking to someone at the stadium on Monday, and it's the last time we'll be there until they probably make a hire. And I was like, you already know what I would. I would have this thing that we'd be back here Thursday. I was like, we would be back here Thursday if they just gave me the keys. Like, you get the guy in and you say, all right, let's go. And I know it isn't that simple, but sometimes it's kind of simple. And Bob Sala would be good. Plus, I would love to

be able to call him Robert and Bob. Love that. So selfishly, that would be cool. There's some assistance that the Bengals could look for, some non-defensive coordinator experience kind of names. And the hottest among those is probably Jim Leonard, who's currently the Denver defensive backs coach, past game coordinator there, coached in Wisconsin as well. I think that he is seen as a future DC, no doubt. I think there's a chance to advance Joseph get some head coach interview. So he could be, trying to get a promotion with the Broncos. But that is a tree that I would be kicking. If I were the Cincinnati Bengals, some tires that I'd be kicking.

Tree I'd be barking up, whatever the aphorism is. Aubrey Pleasant, past game coordinator with the Rams, assistant head coach with the Rams. Some familiarity with Zach Taylor from Taylor's time with the Rams as well. A couple of potential rising assistance into DC roles in the NFL. And then, of course, I think a lot of folks are going to mention Al Golden. I think that they could also cast a wide net across the college ranks, but Golden obviously has connections to the Bengals having been the linebackers coach with Cincinnati,

and it's done a good job at the Notre Dame defense. I think that is a name that will be mentioned as a potential candidate for the Bengals if Golden is interested in returning to the NFL. Yeah, I think that's a big one. Might be the favorite. Al Golden might be the favorite. I think other guy, I'm thinking Jim Leonard, did you mention Jim Leonard? Did I miss that one?

Yep. I thought so. But no, I think Al Golden is probably the favorite. I think Leonard would be one if I had to say, I don't think Dennis Allen or my guy, Bob Sala. I don't think either one of those, honestly. I would not be shocked if they don't interview either one. Put it that way. I would probably have both of them here today.

All that matters is getting it right. And it's not like outside of those big names, we've studied a lot of these defensive coordinators. I think on initial viewing, I think Jim Leonard would be really intriguing. And that would be like my non-household name that I would be in on. But again, it's mid-afternoon on Tuesday. Lou Aniromo's been fired for like 27 hours. So we haven't had that much time to process all of it. There's some potential assistance, just generally speaking on some good defenses around the league.

I'd be looking at are there good candidates on the lion staff under Aaron Glenn? Are there good candidates under Vic Fangio in Philly? Are there good candidates with the Chargers under the Harbaugh tree umbrella, whatever it were, where there was some success? And the last thing I'll point out was an interesting stat that Paul Danaer tweeted and mentioned recently that out of the 14 playoff team, seven have a new DC this year. And I just thought that was an interesting tidbit as a Bengals. are looking for a new DC to find a spark on that side of the ball.

Whether they go with a guy that could be headed to a Steve Spagnolo career trajectory where they've tried him as a head coach, but he needs to be a coordinator or they're looking for an up-and-comer, which has been more of the Bengals M.O. And certainly where they went with the Zach Taylor original coaching staff, now that he's a little bit more entrenched, you've got a really attractive job where you can essentially run half the team and you got Joe Burrow on the other side. they should have their pick of the guy they want. But as we've discussed here, James, it's a massive hire for Zach Taylor.

And we're talking about a short leash in 25. They need to get it right. They have to, have to, got to win. Got to win a lot of games. Got to get back to the playoffs. Got to win the Ravens are going to be trying to become the first team to win the AFC North in three straight seasons. The Bengals were there in 23 with the chance to try to do that.

No team has done it. The Bengals have to dethrone the Ravens next year. They have to. I don't care if the Marr throws for a trillion yards and runs for two trillion. It can't happen against the Bengals. They have to be there. They have to win. They have to make the playoffs and win the division.

The expectations are really, really high. That is certainly a priority for the next DC is having good plans to deal with the Ravens, just like they had Lou Anna Rumo come up with good plans in the playoffs to deal with Patrick Bahomes. You've got to be able to do both if you want to be the DC for the Cincinnati Bengals. We'll keep you updated on everything going on with the Bengals defensive coordinator search. In addition to getting to some of the other offseason priorities for the rest of this week, got to do a 2024 post-mortem as well.

Until then, that's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Hootay and have a good one.