Taylor has an extensive history coaching in the football world. Taylor was the assistant coach at Texas A&M University from 2008-2011, followed by being an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins. In 2016, Taylor was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Cincinnati. In 2017, Taylor went to the LA Rams and served as assistant wide receivers coach and then switched to quarterback coach in 2018. On February 4th, 2019 Taylor was named as head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, just the tenth coach in the teams history.
Some notable accomplishments from his time at Texas A&M were appearing in three bowl games and leading the A&M Aggies to the Big 12 South Championship. Notably, in his time with the Dolphins, he helped shape and develop first-round draft pick, Ryan Tannehill. Taylor helped Tannehill reach 15,460 passing yards in his first four seasons ranking him third-most among all NFL quarterbacks in their first four seasons. Under former head coach, Tommy Tuberville, Taylor helped the Bearcats offense average 255.9 passing yards and 118.3 rushing yards in 2016.
When Taylor started coaching for the Rams in LA, he helped foster a great offensive team. His first year as assistant wide receivers coach, Taylor had the number tenth rated passing offense average 239.4 passing yards per game. Taylor coaching emerging wide receiver rookie, Cooper Kupp, who had the most receiving yards for the Rams in 2017 – 869 yards.
Taylor took over as quarterbacks coach in 2018 and perfected third year quarterback, Jared Goff. That year, Goff had career high statistics including: 4688 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, and a passer rating of 101.1. Taylor helped Goff and the rest of the Rams team to win the NFC West at 13-3 and an appearance in Super Bowl 53.
Taylor has a stacked resume of coaching experience in both college and the NFL and has experienced success at an elite level, especially in the past year with the LA Rams which is good news to Bengals fans. Luckily, in 2019 the Bengals have one of the easiest schedules ranking 27th on the list out of the 32 teams.
Week 1: @ Seattle Seahawks – LOSS 23 – 7
Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers – WIN 27 – 20
Week 3: @ Buffalo Bills – WIN 33 – 14
Week 4: @ Pittsburgh Steelers – WIN 35 – 13
Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals – WIN 21 – 10
Week 6: @ Baltimore Ravens – LOSS 23 – 7
Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – WIN 14 – 3
Week 8: @ Los Angeles Rams – LOSS 24 – 13
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: vs. Baltimore Ravens – LOSS 20 – 13
Week 11: @ Oakland Raiders – WIN 30 – 14
Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – WIN 27 – 9
Week 13: vs. New York Jets – WIN 14 – 13
Week 14: @ Cleveland Browns – WIN 28 – 16
Week 15: vs. New England Patriots – LOSS 35 – 17
Week 16: @ Miami Dolphins – WIN 19 – 14
Week 17: vs. Cleveland Browns – LOSS 21 – 20
In my opinion, the Bengals will finish second in the AFC North behind the Baltimore Ravens with a 10 – 6 record. Potentially, the Bengals will receive a spot in the playoffs as a wild card and win the game. However, I do not foresee the Bengals winning the divisional round game. Regardless, with Taylor’s experience, I believe he will be a big improvement for the Bengals. The Bengals have not won a playoff game in 28 years – lastly on January 6, 1991 against the Houston Oilers, so a win in the playoffs for the Bengals this year is major. In a few years, Taylor could have the Bengals making a deep playoff run, especially if veterans Andy Dalton, AJ Green, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, and Giovanni Bernard stick around.
BELLE OF THE (FOOT)BALL 