The Cincinnati Bengals may have a great quarterback in Joe Burrow playing at the peak of his powers, but that hasn't translated into wins. Zac Taylor has started the season 0-3, as the usual slump early in the campaign has seen Cincinnati lose at home by two huge underdogs in the Patriots and Commanders.
The only other two winless teams in the NFL are in the AFC South, as both the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-3. Those two are at least more excusable, as Tennessee has a first-year coach and second-year quarterback, while Jacksonville is such a mess not even Trevor Lawrence can avoid a regression.
Taylor has now progressed to the point where he has a coaching tree, as those who have been in his orbit are now populating coaching staffs around the NFL. However, while the Bengals hired Taylor to be a facsimile of Sean McVay, those interested in copying Taylor have struggled mightily in 2024.
The Bengals are 0-3. Winless Tennessee is coached by Brian Callahan, who was Taylor's offensive coordinator for the last few seasons. Jacksonville's offensive coordinator is the much-maligned Press Taylor, who is Zac's younger brother. The Taylor family is having a horrid start to the 2024 season.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor's coaching tree off to 0-3 starts in 2024
Callahan's 0-3 record can be excused, as he is coaching a young team with a volatile quarterback in Will Levis. Tennessee gave valiant efforts against the Bears and Titans before getting the doors blown off at home by Malik Willis and the Packers.
Press Taylor has been so pathetic in Jacksonville that fans seemingly want his head on a pike. Between his extremely vanilla scheme, Lawrence's struggles early in the year, and his refusal to adapt, this Jaguars season looks a lot like Doug Pederson's final Eagles season that saw him get canned.
While the Bengals have become used to slow starts under Taylor, and they were just one play away from beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, losing to home to Jacoby Brissett and rookie Jayden Daniels in the span of three weeks is incredibly discouraging. Even if Burrow is on fire, the Bengals aren't guaranteed to do anything.
While Taylor will always lean on his Super Bowl run and 5-2 playoff record, he also has a losing record as a coach entering his sixth season. He may not be the best guy to pluck ideas from, as Jacksonville and Tennessee have found out.