Former NFL General Manager Drops Unpopular Opinion About Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor

An interesting point of view.

Dec 28, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor after a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Former Titans General Manager and current "With the First Pick" podcast host Ran Carthon led a mini-series titled "The Perfect Fix" on the show, where he dissected the most prevalent problems with NFL teams that missed the postseason.

Carthon did a full show on the Bengals and explained why he believes in head coach Zac Taylor.

"I mean he's one of the most successful coaches in organization history and we're talking about an organization that hadn't had much winning." Carthon said. "At least Zac has taken these guys to a couple deep runs in the playoffs including a Super Bowl appearance."

Everything is built around Joe Burrow. They need to keep him on the field.

"The key is keeping Joe Burrow healthy and like you said he's had some freak injuries. Some stuff has happened just on contact that happens in our game," Carthon said. "He's won 70% of his games with Joe Burrow. And I dare you to find someone who has a Joe Burrow and then doesn't have a Joe Burrow that's going to win as many games without Joe Burrow."

Taylor has indeed been successful in the playoffs and late in the regular season, showing remarkable adjustments to the offense during the Bengals championship window.

The problem, though, has been his inability to get the best out of his players in key moments, such as late in games, at the beginning of the season, and in the middle of the season, something that is shown through the Bengals 12 losses in one-score games over the last two seasons.

What could also be argued against Carthon's argument for not having Burrow vs having Burrow is the fact that after trading for Joe Flacco, the offense still showed signs of elite-level play. Yet, they went 1-5 during that span with Flacco, with three of the losses coming in one-score games, and one being against the embattled New York Jets, who were winless at the time.

Taylor enters a 2026 season where he is the lone coach returning to his team in the AFC North. With all of the Steelers, Ravens, and Browns all set to have new head coaches. There is little to no excuse for the coaching staff not to will this team into the playoffs next year by winning the AFC North with its talent on offense alone and the consistency they have on the coaching staff.

Watch Carthon's full breakdown on the Bengals and what he would do this offseason below: