Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has one of the toughest gigs in the NFL. While the rest of the franchise's brain trust hides for the season and refuses to face the media, Taylor is taking all the critical volleys from local and national press alike.
Taylor is somewhat to blame for Joe Burrow's current injury situation. However, when you have an unserious front office and talent evaluation department, you can only do so much.
We're seeing that unfold in real time with regard to the Bengals' defense. At least when he's public-facing, though, Taylor appears to be denying what his head and heart must be screaming at him.
Zac Taylor can't give a straight answer on Bengals' tackling problems
This is a lose-lose situation for Zac Taylor. Cincinnati is fresh off a 34-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the season is effectively over thanks to a 3-7 record. Rather than taking a stand against how poor the Bengals' defense was at tackling again after the Week 11 bye, Taylor took the high road as he often does.
"I understand some of it looks bad. You can't run from that. I can't say much more about it," Taylor said about the Bengals' bad tackling, per CLNSCincy.com's Mike Petraglia. Taylor also added that no personnel changes are necessary to improve the situation (h/t Chatterbox Sports).
Sounds like a dude who doesn't have any answers left to give. To be fair to Taylor, he's kept the offense more than afloat since Joe Flacco's arrival. He's done his best to put on a brave face and spin the discussion about his appalling defensive unit into something positive.
Back to my opening thesis of this subsection re: lose-lose situation. If Taylor admits defeat by firing defensive coordinator Al Golden or any of his assistants, it'll be a bad look for him, since he just pivoted off Lou Anarumo in Golden's post last season. However, throwing the defense under the bus could fracture the locker room and/or get de facto GM Duke Tobin in his feelings, causing strain amongst the Bengals' key leaders.
I've called for Tobin's job more than a couple times in this space. Doesn't seem owner Mike Brown is keen to pull the trigger on that.
That makes Taylor the inevitable fall guy. Whether it's this offseason or once his contract expires after 2026, short of a deep playoff run next season, Taylor is likely out in Cincinnati.
In my humble opinion, the way Taylor could help himself is just to be a bit more real. I'm not saying dodge accountability. Taylor frankly takes all the heat he deserves and a lot more. There's a reason Burrow has stuck by him in such unwavering fashion over the years.
At the same time, not making any changes to the coaching staff, nor showing more fire toward the culprits of the Bengals' horrendous defense, shouldn't be Taylor's approach.
I would love one of the boots on the ground types in Cincinnati to bring up the following point to Taylor's face.
You might've heard about the Cloudfare issues impacting multiple websites today. Rather than embedding the impactful visual aid of an X post from SI's Jay Morrison, I'll transcribe the grisly numbers below.
Most missed tackles in the NFL, 2025 season:
T1. Geno Stone, Cincinnati Bengals — 16
T1. Jordan Battle, Cincinnati Bengals — 16
T3. Demetrius Knight Jr. Cincinnati Bengals — 14
T3. Frankie Luvu, Washington Commanders — 14
T3. Christian Rozeboom, Carolina Panthers — 14
6. Barrett Carter, Cincinnati Bengals — 13
You're telling me no personnel changes are necessary? You're telling me there's not much more to say about it, Zac?
If you're going to go down in this lose-lose scenario, go down telling it like it is! This defense is terrible! They can't tackle to save their lives. And it's too bad, because the Bengals could've actually been something this season if they'd fielded a fringe-competent defense, rather than an unprecedentedly bad one.