Cincinnati Bengals: Zac Taylor Continues Differentiate From Marvin Lewis

By now, talking about Marvin Lewis does not really do the Cincinnati Bengals or their fans any good. However, Zac Taylor is so different from his predecessor that comparisons are impossible to not make.

The fresh energy and new vibe around Zac Taylor’s Bengals has been a hot topic in Cincinnati all offseason long amongst players and fans. Taylor is a younger offensive minded head coach, Lewis was older with a defensive background.

Especially given where the franchise was when he took over, Lewis actually did a decent job over 16 years. However, things got incredibly stale for all parties involved towards the end of his tenure.

The latest area where the winds of change are blowing over the franchise is the pressroom. Check out a snippet of the interview Lewis did after the 2015 season with the local ABC affiliate below. The video can be found on the stations YouTube channel.

Now, compare it to Taylor’s session with the media after Friday’s practice via the Bengals YouTube channel.

The differences are many and massive. First, as of two weeks ago, the Bengals have finally joined the rest of us in the current decade by getting a YouTube channel and putting soundbites from the coach on it.

Also, Lewis always just gave the press a bunch of football clichés as answers. This is not always a bad thing, but fans and media alike always want to see some emotion from a coach when he is speaking. Lewis never displayed that. Based on his interactions with the press, you had no idea if the team was in good or bad shape.

On the other hand, Taylor gives real answers that let you know how he feels about his team. The former Rams assistant also looks happy to be dealing with the media, unlike Lewis.  In defense of Lewis, coaching in the NFL is grind. Once Taylor has been a head coach for a few years, he won’t look so relaxed in the pressroom. For now though, it is nice to see.

However, Taylor’s last answer about wanting his players to understand the reason behind why he and his staff do everything the way they do is what should stick with fans the most. That signifies perhaps the biggest and most important change of all.