Bengals coach Zac Taylor must check these boxes to keep his job beyond this year

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is entering his eighth season on the job, and only two of those years have resulted in trips to the playoffs.

When Taylor has actually led the Bengals into the postseason, he's fared well, with a stellar 5-2 mark thanks in large part to Joe Burrow. While we shouldn't short-change Taylor for those big-time wins, nor put him too much at fault for the defense's woes of late, the pressure is really on in 2026.

This Bengals roster, deemed the most talented Burrow has ever played with by the franchise quarterback himself, has Super Bowl-or-bust expectations.

Although his contract technically runs through the 2027 campaign, Cincinnati's brass is a lot more proactive/aggressive than usual these days. If Taylor can't hack it this year, he could be let go, and there would be no dearth of top-tier candidates lining up to coach Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Co.

So what must Taylor do to cement his job security? A few things spring to mind as bare minimums...

No more sluggish starts to the season, please and thank you!

Even when the Bengals started off last year 2-0, their offense was all out of sync, and their defense benefited from playing the Cleveland Clowns, er, Browns in Week 1.

The ill-prepared, still-syncing offensive line gave way in the second game of the year, leading to Burrow's freakish turf toe injury. Cincinnati was also, in a literal sense, historically bad at run blocking during the first month or so of last year.

You see what I'm saying? It's easy to say the 2-0 start absolved Taylor from all those inauspicious beginnings of yesteryear. it's also easy to say it was a mirage, considering the Bengals lost 11 of their next 15 games.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. There's something to be said for Taylor grinding out two wins in the face of so much pressure. Then again, those were the most Pyrrhic of victories once Burrow went down.

A hot start is key. Cincinnati's 2026 schedule is easy-ish by NFL standards, yet going home vs. Tampa Bay, then at Houston and at Pittsburgh isn't the most facile opening slate.

Guide the Bengals to their best finish in total offense during his tenure

Those two deep playoff runs after the 2021 and 2022 seasons saw the Bengals rank eighth in total offense. However, they've never made it higher than that under Taylor's direction.

Taylor has made do better than expected with the likes of Jake Browning in 2023 and Joe Flacco last year when Burrow was seriously injured. A slow start in 2024 was to blame for Cincinnati's No. 9 ranking in total offense, as Joe Shiesty wound up leading the NFL in passing yards and TD passes.

But make no mistake: Now that the defense is the best it's been since those dual runs to Conference Championship Weekend, this offense needs to be elite. We're talking top-three status. That's especially so when you consider how strong the rushing attack was this past year:

Rising star running back Chase Brown is poised to explode in the midst of a contract year. The offensive line returns all five starters from the unit that paved lanes for Brown so effectively.

If the Bengals can get similar efficiency on the ground and Burrow is his typical elite self, Taylor had better have this team near the top of the league in total yards gained, if not No. 1.

Win at least one playoff game

Making the playoffs is a given, right? If the Bengals are a mere Wild Card team, that'll actually be a disappointment. They should be the clear AFC North favorites, if only because they're the only coaching staff in the division to remain intact, and, well, Joe Burrow is ideally healthy for the whole year.

Taylor can't afford to Marvin Lewis himself out of the playoffs, though. See what I did there? Lewis was legendary for his one-and-done exits.

Was that more on Lewis, or Andy Dalton? I'd skew toward the latter. But I digress.

Bottom line is, Taylor has the best defense he's had to work with since at least 2022. He has the best o-line of his entire tenure. Burrow has only gotten better with experience since their last playoff appearance.

It's time to deliver. Who Dey Nation will figuratively (I hope not literally) riot if the Bengals bow out on Wild Card Weekend, or worse, earn a first-round bye and get upset at Paycor Stadium. Taylor will be the convenient fall guy, because de facto GM Duke Tobin has held his post since the last Bill Clinton administration.

Good luck, Zac. Please don't mess this up. You've never really been the problem. But can you handle the heat, sir!? I hope so!

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