Zac Taylor has had an interesting tenure as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
In his six seasons in the role, Taylor's Bengals have qualified for postseason play just twice. The other four times, they fell short of making the playoffs. But, both times they did make the playoffs, they made it at least to the AFC Championship game, and they advanced all the way to the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2021 season before ultimately falling just short of hoisting the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Overall, Taylor seems to be well-liked by his players. He received an 'A' from players on the 2025 NFLPA Team Report Card, with players reporting that he is efficient with their time and receptive to locker room feedback. He's also overseen one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league over recent years.
However, Taylor's teams consistently start slow, and making the playoffs just a third of the time isn't ideal. The Bengals began Taylor's tenure with 11 straight losses to start the 2019 season. (The silver lining to that slow start is that it ultimately resulted in the team being in position to select Joe Burrow with the top overall pick in the draft the following year).
Zac Taylor could be coaching for his job in 2025
In 2020, the Bengals started off the year 0-2-1 before finally getting a dub against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4. In 2021, the Bengals bucked the slow start trend by winning the first game of the season. But, the Bengals were back to old habits in 2022 and 2023, as they started off 0-2 in each of those seasons.
In 2024, the Bengals started 0-3 before finally getting a win against the lowly Carolina Panthers in Week 4. Cincinnati ran off five straight wins to close out the season and they ended the campaign with a winning record (9-8), but their slow start ultimately kept them out of the postseason picture for the second consecutive season.
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After missing out on the playoffs for a second straight season, there were some who thought that Taylor might be relieved of his duties. Ultimately though, long-time defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo became the fall guy, losing his job after after Cincinnati's defense left much to be desired throughout the '24 season.
With Anarumo taking the bulk of the blame, Taylor was able to keep his job. But the pressure is absolutely on. He'll enter the '25 season with his seat feeling warm, and it will only heat up if the team struggles out of the gate yet again. It could reach scorching levels if they fall out of the playoff picture again.
In fact, a playoff berth feels like the barometer. If Taylor leads the Bengals back to the playoffs in 2025, he'll likely get to continue coaching the team into an eighth season. However, if Cincinnati misses the playoffs for a third consecutive season with Joe Burrow under center, especially after spending big to retain the likes of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki, they could very well look to go in a different direction on the sideline.
So in summation, and to address the question posed in the headline, yes, it certainly seems like Taylor is on the hot seat heading into the '25 season, and he very well could be coaching for his job in the upcoming campaign.