Since the organization drafted superstar quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals have become a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl year in and year out. That shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish considering the fact that Burrow has become one of the best players in the NFL during this short four-year window. The real question is this: how much credit belongs to Burrow for the remarkable turnaround and how much credit belongs to the coaching staff.
Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Honored by Major Outlet
Yesterday, USA Today reported Jarrett Bailey announced his ranking of the 32 NFL head coaches. According to Bailey, Taylor is ranked at the seventh spot behind Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (number 6) and in front of Detroit Lions outstanding head coach Dan Campbell at number eight. Bailey indicated that Taylor doesn’t get enough credit for turning around an offense that had stagnated under the leadership of Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis throughout the entire 2010s decade.
While Taylor has certainly been a part of turning around this perennial bottom-dweller, an argument can be made that he has actually hindered the progress rather than helped it. Obviously, Burrow is the chief architect after he single handedly lead this team to the Super Bowl in 2021. Burrow likely would have won that Super Bowl if the coaching staff and front office had done a better job protecting him all season long.
The offensive line has arguably been as bad as any unit in the league over the last few four seasons and Taylor has done a poor job figuring out ways to improve the unit. Even after director of player personnel Duke Tobin dumped a decent bounty of cash into signing four quality starters over the past few seasons, the position has finished close to worst in the NFL each of the past few seasons. The real question is whether or not Taylor should be blamed for that or if it is dictated by the front office.
While wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has turned out to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Cincinnati had a great opportunity to use that fifth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to boost the offensive line. While Chase is among the best receivers in the NFL, his alternative offensive tackle Penei Sewell has grown to become the best offensive tackle in the NFL. With Sewell, Burrow may have avoided injury a little bit better and maybe Cincinnati would have a Super Bowl ring to show for their success.
Picking Chase in 2021 isn’t the only mistake on Taylor’s record: free agent signings such as safety Nick Scott, offensive tackle Orlando Brown and tight end Irv Smith Jr. have been major whiffs from the coaching staff. Even after a huge emergence onto the stage in 2021, it can’t be argued that this team has regressed each of the past two seasons and a lot of that can be laid at the feet of Taylor’s struggling offensive philosophy.
As a former quarterback, Taylor having a certain affinity for a pass-first offense certainly makes sense but his inability to bolster any of the other key facets of the team is certainly a crucial weakness. The running game has completely vanished, and the defense was amongst the worst units in the NFL last season. While Taylor has earned credit for him triumphs, he hasn’t really suffered the blame for his numerous blunders as an NFL head coach.
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1 Comment
The best point made here I think is the OL comments. Taylor needs to fire Frank Pollack and I do not know if the FO is part of this by keeping Pollack. We get good OL players and they do nothing but get worse under Pollack. I also think we hung on to Mixon for too long. WRT the FA signings last year, these were somewhat of a desperation move as we unexpectedly lost some key players to FA. Ironically one of my critiques is that Taylor listens to Burrow too much. The offense he installed when Burrow was hurt last year was wonderful.