Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Temperature Check | Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on the HOT SEAT?

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

Is Zac Taylor's job with the Cincinnati Bengals on the line in 2025? We dive into the complexities surrounding the head coach's future, the Bengals' unique handling of coaching decisions, Taylor's contract situation, and the pivotal factors that could make or break his future in Cincinnati. 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!GametimeDownload 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.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's been speculation that Zach Taylor's seat is hot going into 2025. Let's talk about why that may not be the case in today's episode of Lockdown Bengals. 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. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Jake Liscoe. we've been covering the Cincinnati Bengals here on Lockdown Bengals since 2016.

Your best stop on the internet for all things Bengals. If you're new to the show, you can be coming every day or by just hitting that subscribe button and not missing an episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. And the everydayers out there, we appreciate you for establishing those great listening habits like making Lockdown Bengals your first listen and shout out to you if you already make Lockdown Bengals your first listen of the day. Today, James, we take a deep dive into where Zach Taylor sits in terms of his seat

temperature. Pro football focus not too long ago wrote up a list of 10 NFL coaches on a hot seat heading into the 2025 season and concluded their section on Zach Taylor by writing that with the Bengals Corps not getting any younger and key pieces like Hendrickson, perhaps not having much time left in Cincinnati, it feels like Taylor will need to at least make the playoffs this year to retain his job. And while that is the standard and expectation that should exist for Zach Taylor, let's dive into this a little bit more because I don't think it's really that simple, especially with the Bengals history with head coaches. No, it isn't that simple. I think the Bengals had first things first. Last year, when they were failing,

and failed in 2024, and that's exactly what the season was, there was some talk like, oh, do you think Zach could be out? And I do think that the seat was pretty, was warmer than people realized, even with this contract and all of those things. But they chose to stick with Zach and build around him. And go get Al Golden on what I believe is a three-year contract,

go get a bunch of new position coaches on two-year deals that align with Zach. And so when you do that, you're confident that he could turn it around if you find the right guys and the right help around him. And so that that's what I think. So this idea that Zach is entering this year on the hot seat, I don't think that's the case. Now, there's plenty of paths to him being on the hot seat this season, which we can discuss. But as of today, I think that they are confident in the building that Zach Taylor is the guy to turn this around, that they will get back to the playoffs this year, that they will have success,

and that the pieces that they changed were the pieces that needed to be changed. Are they right or are they wrong? We'll see. But I think that's where it's at. So even if his seat was warmer than I think some expected last year during the season, I think it's cooled off

because they took a step back, evaluated everything, and said, all right, we're going to do these things to make sure Zach Taylor can succeed. We talked about last, year during the season when the Bengals were four and eight after week 13, this idea of a dead

cat bounce, this idea that often in situations like that when things are dire, especially in Bengals history, we've seen Bengals teams get hot down the stretch. And the Bengals did just that. They won their next five games. They finished nine and eight. They were in a playoff scenario in Week 18. And they didn't get everything they needed to happen to happen. And I remember thinking when they were four and eight, which is after that one in four start and another stretch where they lost four out of five games from the Philadelphia game in week eight

to the Pittsburgh game in week 13 with the biweek in the middle there, that the Bengals should not be persuaded by a dead cat bouts. And I think they were a little bit because they were in a position where they were in a playoff race and where they weren't persuaded by late season results was with the defensive coaching staff, right? And that's where the Bengals ultimately decided things were last year.

They decided that the disconnect they had on their coaching staff was with developing players and putting players in a position to succeed, especially players that they invested high draft capital in on the defensive side of the ball. And as a head coach, Zach Taylor is responsible for both sides of the ball, but obviously, from a reality perspective, he is much more involved with the operations of the offense. And the offense last year was really good.

And so you can see how the Bengals reached this decision, which was we need to develop our players better on defense. We need to get more out of the investment that we've made on the defensive side of the ball. And to do that, we'll revamp our defensive coaching staff and bring in a new defense defensive coordinator, new defensive line coach. We need to get better on the offensive line, too. Let's bring in a technician who's a pass blocking specialist

and get on the same page there with Zach Taylor. And so where last year could have been an opportunity for the Bengals front office to say this is a referendum on who Zach Taylor is, we're losing too many close games, we're losing too many games that we really need in final minutes and we need a coach who will get us over that hump. They instead say, we think Zach has. has us in position to win games, but we have some pieces wrong around him. And so if that is a decision that they ultimately made last year,

it's hard for me to imagine that a seat is burning hot going into this year, right? And that's how we get to this point where they were short of expectations last year, healthy Joe Burrow going nine and eight, unacceptable. And I don't think there's any two ways around that. But when you stick with the head coach and you rebuild things around him, that is a bit of a vote of confidence in that head coach, no? I mean, to some degree, you're saying, well, we think that you're doing things right enough that you're going to stay here and that you need some new pieces on your coaching staff

to make things work, right? Am I reading that wrong? No. And that's what I mean is like last year, a lot of people dismissed the idea that they were talking about Zach Taylor's future, you know, and potentially moving on from him. the Marvin Lewis element. I think it was a conversation. And I think the conversation was, like you said, Zach is right, but we got to get these pieces right. And we got to get his guy in the offensive line room. And we got to find a guy that's going to do what we need to in this

era of Bengals football from a defensive standpoint and work well with Zach. By the way, they bring in Zach's guy at DC. Like it can't be more of a Zach higher. What do I mean by that? They're neighbors. Their neighbor, like, it has nothing to do. By the way, I think Al Goan's a really good coach. It's not like he's not qualified or anything. We saw what he did at Notre Dame. Obviously, they loved him as linebackers coach. That's not what I'm saying. But what I'm saying is, is Zach was like, oh, well, this is the guy. Clearly, he said that. And I'm sure they, they had this idea of going after Al, maybe in season, maybe in season when they decided that, yeah, Lou, I mean, the defense won them the game in Pittsburgh, that final game. It's not like Lou was

coaching for his job there. I think the, the hay was in the barn, so to speak, on his fate. And so it's got to work out now. Like that's the part of it where it's interesting because, yeah, the pressure's on Zach, but I don't buy this. Oh, well, if they start 0.2, Zach's got to go. That's not going to happen. It's not going to happen because they're not going to put all these pieces in place

and then say, oh, well, Zach, at 0.2, Darren says, Simmons is the interim head coach. It's just that element isn't there. It doesn't mean he can't be on the hot seat at some point this year. And we can talk about the contract and all of those things, but I would be pretty shocked if two weeks in, even if it is a road loss to Cleveland, which cannot happen. There are very few scenarios where that is acceptable, not many. And then losing to Jacksonville, like, those are, you should be two and oh. Yeah. And so the pressure is on there. But that's good pressure because they better start fast. I think there are a couple things there that we should talk about.

One is the Bengals' M.O. when it comes to moving on from coaches. The other is Zach Taylor's contract status and that creating this kind of awkward situation where it's not necessarily a hot seat, but do you want to go into a lame duck year? Let's talk about what's going on with Zach's current status and a bit of history that I think is very relevant

to you talk about an 0-and-2 start and the discourse that could, ensue if that terrible scenario recurs and happens again. Let's discuss some of those topics here as we continue on the Zach Taylor conversation coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandle. The NBA playoffs, well, they're wrapping up. And by the time that you watch or listen to this, they may be wrapped up as the thunder are looking to close out the Pacers on Thursday night. But if this is before game six, we'll get in on all the fun. And if there's a game seven, well, there's no better word in sports. So you can tell I'm really.

for a game seven. But Fandul makes it easy to stay in the game, whether it's NBA, whether it's Major League Baseball, college football in the NFL or right around the corner, plenty of future bets there. And like I said, game six, live prop bets midgame. That's what I love with Fandall is not only can you do live betting, but you can do live prop bets and live parlays, boom from the Fandul app. So download the Fandall app or check out fandle.com today and place your first $5 bet. If it wins, you'll get $200 in bonus bets. It's $200 in bonus bets when you place your first $5 bet. And of course, you have to win it at fandle.com. Make every moment more with Fandle, official sports betting partner of the NBA. So when's the last time the Bengals, James, fired a head coach

in the middle of the season? Do you know the answer to this question? I don't know the answer to this question. This is a trivia question I'm putting you on the spot for because I don't know at the top of my head. Does anything come up when you think about that question? Bruce Coslett, I feel like. Was that a firing or did he resign? He stepped down on September 25th, but I heard that it was kind of the other, anyways, either way. Bruce Coslet would be the one in 2000. After that, Dick LeBoe, I think, was after the season.

Let me make sure, though. I remember Coslet when you talk about Coslet being like the last in-season coaching change the Bengals had, but I didn't think he was fired. Now, maybe that was a mutual parting of ways. Maybe that was like a, hey, we're going to fire you. And he instead was trying to preserve some dignity by taking that step down, resigning route. But I recall Coslet leaving or at least the way it was presented was that he left. And obviously that's a long time ago now.

That he quit. Um, so that's it. Before that, it would be because Dick Leboe was after the season. It was right, right before the New Year's on New Year's Eve. It's got to be, uh, what's his name in the 90s? But regardless, it's been forever to your point. The Bengals have a history of one, holding on to coaches about a year longer than most fans would like at least a year longer than most fans would like.

Two, they generally aren't firing coaches mid-season. So even if it is a terrible start to the season, the Bengals front office seems to believe philosophically that firing a coach mid-season is counterproductive. And I think that that would remain true with Zach Taylor this year, especially given their late season runs that they have history of. Dave Shula, sorry. So that was in 96 and it wild. Anyways, so there you go.

I knew I was like, there's one. Oddly enough, Bruce Coslett replaced him. And then four years later, Bruce Coslet from OC to head coach, then he quits. And then Dick LeBow gets hired, and then it was Marvin Lewis. So there you go. And Shula was a miserable tenure. Oh, it was as a head coach and was fired in 1996 after starting the season. in one and six. He lost 50 games faster than any coach in NFL history, and we don't need to

relive the 90s. But, I mean, lost decade, right? There's a reason that that era of Bengals football is considered to be one of the darkest in Bengals history. Zach Taylor isn't in that world. I know he had that start and could have been on a Dave Schuller trajectory, but right of the ship, right? And Joe Burrow helped him write that ship. They got to the Super Bowl. They got to the Super Bowl. got to the AFC championship game, he built that equity with the Bengals front office. And if you get to a point again where you're four and eight, a week 13, and you need 99 other things to happen in addition to you winning out to make the playoffs, then we're probably talking about this again if you get yourself into that situation.

But the Bengals also have this history with Zach of finding their footing late in the season. So really it comes down to can they dig, can they avoid digging themselves a hole that is too big to get out of? Can they achieve this fast start thing that we've talked about a ton, that they've talked about a ton? And if you get to that point, then you're probably cool if you're Zach Taylor, at least for this year. But then where it gets interesting is you're under contract for 2026. And a lot of times when you see a coach going into the last year of their deal, you start to see extension talks become a topic, James. Yeah. And that's what's most likely here.

The most likely scenario isn't Zach Taylor hot seat. The most likely scenario is Zach Taylor signs an extension next January or February. Because do you think the Bengals are making the playoffs this year? I do. It's as frustrating as this offseason has been and continues to be for certain reasons, which we've talked about a ton and I'm not going to get into. It's still Joe Burrow. It's still Jamar Chase. It's still T. Higgins. I think it's still going to be T. Hendrickson. It's still going to be a talented enough team that probably makes the playoffs. I think the defense will be better because of our goal. I just think that they're going to be more buttoned up, more disciplined. And so I

do think they'll be better. Now, how much better? Good enough to be a Super Bowl contender. All of those things we'll see. But that's where it is. Like if I had to say, if I'm writing the Zach Taylor hot seat column or the Zach Taylor extension column and I'm just hiding, having those ready to go, I think the extension column is far more likely to come true. Doesn't mean it won't go the other way, doesn't mean they won't be four and eight. At some point, my God, if they're four and eight, Jake, it's going to be a really rough season. I hope not. But, yeah, it's outside of that, because if they're six and six, history says Joe, Burrow, Zach Taylor, and the Bengals are going to go on a December run and get into the playoffs. If they're four and eight, the hole's probably too deep like it was last year. And if they're eight and four, then extension talks are definitely going to happen after the season if they finish strong and are one of the top teams in the AFC. So I think that that's where this likely falls because the last thing you won,

if a guy's taking you to a Super Bowl, two AFC championship games, and let's just say they win the division, a third division title in five years, which I do think is realistic. I'm not saying they will, but realistic to think that they could. You're 100% extending him. You're not making Zach Taylor going to a lame duck year. That's not what the Bengals history shows, and that's not what their actions show,

going back to what we said a few minutes ago, about the assistant coaches in their contracts and building around Zach. So I guarantee you their mindset is, oh, yeah, we're going to extend Zach after this year. It's just a matter of him going out there proving it and showing that he's the guy that they think he is. Which is such an interesting way to conduct yourself

as an organization with the head coach, right? because there are so many teams that would, and have pulled the plug on coaches for not getting over a hump. And I think Andy Reid with the Eagles, you can think about Tom Tibido in his many stops in his NBA career, where he's gotten teams very close but not over the hump, much more common in the NBA, I think. And maybe that's me just not hearing much about the NBA. But you see coaches in the NFL too who can get to. seems close. Don't get over the hump and you see coaching changes happen. Even when you make the playoffs, because standards are different in different places. And so there's a potential

criticism to be had here of the Bengals front office, of the Bengals decision makers for giving coaches too long of a leash. There is a valid criticism that says Zach Taylor should have been replaced after 2024. And then the Bengals should have been out there courting, you know, the Ben Johnson's of the world and been looking for that kind of change at head coach. And I think that's a valid criticism. It's just not the reality of the way

the Bengals do business or where the Bengals are. I do find it interesting, James. You're talking about the Bengals in December and their propensity to make runs there. It's a little bit tougher this year. And it's a good thing. When we've looked at the schedule, obviously we talked about this,

but their December starts with Buffalo, Baltimore. Their November ends with Baltimore. So the start of December, end of November for them is Baltimore, Buffalo, Baltimore. And that's that stretch. Well, I picked them to sweep Baltimore. So when they sweep Baltimore, it's not going to look as tough. Did you really? Yeah.

All right. That kind of year. When it happens. No, no. I just think they're due to, you know, beat up on Baltimore a little bit. It's a north. It's a north, baby. It's tough to win.

The AFC North three years in a row, as we've discussed. We'll finish up the conversation here on the Zach Taylor hot seat. And what could end up putting him in those hot waters in 2025 coming up next? I do think, Jake, while they won't fire Zach, let's say they start 0 and 2. I don't think he's getting fired. But I do think that's when the talks will get hotter. And at least internal. eyebrows will go up.

The Bengals are so, the way I would describe them as an organization, they are almost always emotionless. They can take the emotion out of it. Mike Brown's very good at this. To a fault, sometimes it's awesome. Sometimes it's not. Like you lose a big game and a lot of people are like, oh, fire the coach. I can't believe he did this or that or the game management or this.

And he just doesn't, he doesn't overreact. And I think he's good at that now. There's a double-edged sword there and a lot of people hate that. It's an underreaction. There's two sides of that. No doubt. But I think they're emotionless. That's how I would describe them.

And contract talks, all of those things. Like you've seen it. You've seen it the different layers. So when do you think that they are they internally, not externally, because I think after 0 and 2, a lot of people would say, get him out of here. But when do you think? think it would really come up? Does it take three quarters of the way through the season if they're four and eight? What if they start two and five? Like where do you think that that line is

realistically with with a healthy Joe and all of those things? I think honestly, so going back to the PFF article, if they missed the playoffs with a healthy Joe Burrow again and they have a reasonable run of health because injuries happen in the NFL, right? But they have a reasonable run of health. They figure out Trey Hendrickson, they figure out Shmar Stewart before training camp. Let's just say all those things happen. They don't have those excuses built in.

Because that could sit there and say, look, you didn't give me a team. You sat on $30 million of cap space in June while we watched Jair Alexander signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Not that the Bengals were ever going to sign Jaya Alexander, but for example, right?

And you gave me a nose tackle. in free agency. That's what we got. You couldn't find me a guard. We got Lucas Patrick and Cody Ford competing for right guard. So there's an argument to be made for Zach Taylor

that says you didn't deliver on the off-season discussions that we had. We had discussions of bringing in some guys on the defensive side of the ball of acquiring more draft picks. I don't know. I'm speculating, right? These aren't conversations I know they've had.

But there is a fair argument from Zach perspective that says front office didn't give me enough but let's say they get to the regular season yep and we just sat here on this show a couple weeks ago and said this is still a top half of the NFL roster we think there's a lot of variance we'll talk about that in our next show the the x factors that exist for this team a lot of players that can really go one way or another this year but joe bird from r chase t higgins your stability with a few spots on the offensive line it tackles and at center, the offense should still be the offense. So where I think Zach's seat really gets hot internally is you're not finishing games again

on a consistent basis in the first half of the season. The offense regresses. You can't and you know, you have serious issues schematically, which we've seen happen at times throughout the Taylor tenure. But at this point, Joe Burroughs' mastery of the offense seems good enough that that really shouldn't happen. So if it does, that's an indictment of the thing that Zach ostensibly does well, which is building an offense around Joe Burrow. So if those things start to happen, I think you get a hot seat.

Now, is it as simple as missing the playoffs with Healthy Joe Burrow means end of Zach Taylor's time in Cincinnati? I think it depends on why. If it's because the offense is underperforming, then I think maybe it does. If the defense steps up and for whatever reason, Zach Taylor can't get his offense to perform the way, way we expected to perform and that's why they missed the playoffs then i think you're you're a hundred percent in those waters and in that conversation yeah i think the front office would push back like if he if he was like hey you got me a nose tackle he would say no we got you the defensive coordinator you wanted and we got you a new offensive line

coach that you said is going to matter and and that's what i i think is interesting is they I think they believe they're significantly better there. And they believe in Dax Hill, for example, as someone that may come up in the X Factor's episode, right, and can get more out of these guys. And so we'll see. But there will be a time where it's like, all right, Zach, you got to do. You got to do more.

And the stars are still the stars. And so it's the front office's job to make sure that, 91's on the field. That's a big factor here. But as long as they get him on the field, they should be a playoff team. And at the same time, do you think that Zach, I think that Joe, I was thinking about this today, I think that Joe is far more, not that he was never mentally tough. Of course he was. I think last year made him better, though, because he had never had a year like that where it was like, I'm awesome and we're getting beat and had to get up and figure it out and figure it out and he did. Then they got over the hump one game too late. Do you think Zach's a

better head coach now after going through last year? I guess we'll see. But what do you think? I think that Zach is relatively fully cooked as a head coach. Like there will be incremental improvements. And we've seen this with Andy Reid. Andy Reid was awesome in Philadelphia. Couldn't get over the hump. gets the Kansas City, gets the infrastructure he needs, gets a quarterback that works for him, and gets over the hump. I don't think Zach Taylor is on

Andy Reed trajectory right now, though. Not yet. He would need to be consistently in the playoffs knocking on the door for the next three, four years to enter that conversation. You win the Super Bowl. You win the Super Bowl this year you enter it. Oh, yeah, sure.

And then I think like all of the, because if you look at coaching rankings right now, Zach's probably in the bottom 10 of most, maybe bottom 13 because a bunch of rookie coaches. I haven't checked out coaching rankings. But man, when you say bottom 10, I'm like, ugh. I think that's, I mean, maybe it's like, you know, somewhere in the low, like around 20, you know, bottom 12, 13, 14. But like, he's not cracking any top 10s, top 15s.

And that's how the NFL community at large sees Zach Taylor, despite his achievements in Cincinnati. a place that hasn't had those achievements. For whatever reason, right or wrong, and I think there's a grain of truth to this, so I'm not dismissing it. Joe Burrow gets a credit for Zach Taylor's offenses in Cincinnati. And Zach doesn't get the credit for creating an offense and putting Joe Burrow in a situation where he can't succeed.

And fans consistently want Joe Burrow to be calling the plays. So it's not like, you know, those voices are alone. But I think there's this, this, this propensity in Cincinnati to stick with coaches. So if the offense performs, I think that's ultimately what it comes down to. You think if the offense performs. Well, I mean, if the defense is figuring it out late in the year,

then it's okay. Like, I think it's reasonable to expect some growing pains with your new defensive coordinator, first-time NFL defensive coordinator. If the defense falls flat on its face, then there's probably a problem there. But if the offense is still performing well, and I mean closing games well, too, like running to close games, finishing games, like getting that dagger at the end of the game.

Well, then you're an elite offense. They've never been an elite offense under Zach or Joe. Elite. You're talking like best instead of top three or four or five. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like elite ever. And when you have the best receiver in the league and arguably the best quarterback in the league and a top 10 receiver in the league. You know, like they should be better on office.

this year than in any year, to your point, they better be. They better, this better be the best offense that they've had. I think that's fair. And so I got you. Yeah, because they've never, they've never felt like a complete offense. And while I don't think they're going to be like this run heavy offense, I do think that they should be good enough now and more complete and just as explosive and hopefully just as dynamic in all of those things where,

I mean, you have Joe. Joe should have the answers to the test always at this point. And he does. Yeah. But can your right guard do anything for you in the run game? Has your right tackle who love a Mario Smims? Has he figured out how to actually play to his athleticism and use that power in the run? Like, these are key things to making your run game work because you are to go specialized in the past game on your offensive line.

Uh-oh. We're just going to go right into the next show. Right into it. next show will be about X-Factors, the make or break players, coaches, perhaps, that could have a significant impact on whether the Bengals 2020-25 season is a success or not, whether Zach Taylor will be in extension talks or hot seat talks halfway through or toward the end of the 2025 season. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast.

Ho-Day and have a good one.