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Zac Taylor has a Golden Opportunity in Cincinnati

By Dylan Streibig

CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 05: Zac Taylor speaks to the media as director of player personnel Duke Tobin (left) and owner Mike Brown (right) look on after being introduced as the new head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on February 5, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 05: Zac Taylor speaks to the media as director of player personnel Duke Tobin (left) and owner Mike Brown (right) look on after being introduced as the new head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on February 5, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Rookie Bengals head coach Zac Taylor faces an uphill battle in Cincinnati, but will be an instant legend if he can be successful.

Even after the Bengals hired Zac Taylor following the Super Bowl, much of the offseason chatter from national media has been about everything working against him.  Weather it is the fan base does not support the team, Mike Brown is cheap, or Cincinnati does not appeal to free agents, it has all been said this offseason.

All those things are true to some extent, but Taylor does have talent to work with. This is particularly the case on the offensive side of the ball. Also, the fact that Marvin Lewis stuck around as long as he did annoyed the fan base, but it might be viewed upon favorably by someone like Taylor. The 36 year old already has four kids. It has to be somewhat comforting to him that there is evidence to suggest that he may not be asked to relocate in two years should things get off to a rough start in Cincinnati.

So, what if Taylor uses these positives and becomes the man that helps deliver the Bengals franchise its first playoff win since the 1990 season? For many coaches a single playoff win is just a nice accomplishment. For Taylor though, a playoff win would mean never having to buy a drink in Cincinnati again and instantly being a major part of positive franchise history.

More than that though, Taylor would wake up a sleeping giant of a fan base and football town. Anyone who thinks Cincinnati is not a great place for the NFL has obviously never lived there on the rare occasions that the Bengals have done well, I have.

The video below via Matt Lee on YouTube shows the 2005 Bengals returning from Detroit after clinching their first divison title and playoff berth since that 1990 season. Just watch it. The Bengals fan base may be grumpy and tired of bad football, but it sure is there.

At a certain point, just making the playoffs was no longer good enough for Marvin Lewis. Still, as strange as it sounds now, Lewis was viewed as a legend in Cincinnati for a time. The same can be said of Taylor if he can take the Bengals just one step further.

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