Bengals In 'Power Position' For Top Head Coaching Candidates If Team Fires Zac Taylor

CINCINNATI — Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr took a closer look at the Bengals head coaching stability this week. The writer noted Cincinnati would be in the "power position" to hire any head coaching candidate this cycle if it fired Zac Taylor.

Getting to coach a quarterback like Joe Burrow on a declining contract relative to the salary cap is a factor no other opening could match.

"The sentiment around the Bengals’ job, at least according to those whose vocation is to anticipate jobs that may come available, was that firing Taylor after this season would seem out of character for the organization," Orr wrote. "However—and this is the important factor to consider—if the Bengals’ job were to open and the chance to work with Burrow became available, it would significantly alter the coaching market and likely draw any top candidates. Cincinnati would be seated at the power position.

"Coaches coming into the head job are realistic that every opportunity comes with a massive, double-alarm, surgeon general’s warning. Maybe the owner is meddlesome. Maybe the general manager has the tenure of a woefully ineffective college philosophy professor. Maybe the roster is in decline. Most coaches are confident enough to believe they can navigate these hurdles, or want the job so badly that they’re willing to gloss over them."

Burrow's five-year top-of-the-market contract extension, which he signed in 2023, reached its peak cap crunch of 16.48% this season. It goes down below 16% in 2026 and descends further, close to 14% by the end of 2029.

Salary cap issues should not prevent Cincinnati from building this roster back up.

"A job with a quarterback like Burrow, though, is a true no-brainer. Burrow is one of five quarterbacks in the NFL who could single-handedly alter the course of a game," Orr continued. "He is 29, still well within his athletic prime, and his contract is now on the decline in terms of the percentage it takes up relative to the total salary cap, after reaching its peak in 2025. Having someone like him is the quickest path to immediate success."

A few candidates came up in Orr's piece, including Bills' offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who helped build the buzzsaw offense Burrow tore the SEC up with at LSU.

There are plenty of paths Cincinnati could take to try to rebuild this ship engine with one year left on Taylor's deal. They fired Marvin Lewis in the same spot following the 2018 season.

UPDATE: Taylor is actually not in the same spot as Lewis amidst new reporting from The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. He revealed Taylor signed a contract extension in 2023 after losing in the AFC championship game (Cincinnati's last playoff trip) and is on that deal through 2027, not 2026.

Check out Orr's full piece here.

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