Zac Taylor Named Among Group of NFL Head Coaches on Hot Seat Before 2026 NFL Season

Zac Taylor has had plenty of highs and some lows with the Bengals across a rollercoaster run as the team's head coach since 2019. Taylor has two years left on his contract and enters the rest of this offseason with all the tools to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.

Still, when you miss the playoffs three years in a row and only make it twice in seven seasons, the eyebrows get raised. Pro Football Focus writer Bradley Locker named Taylor among five other head coaches on the hot seat entering the 2026 season.

Taylor was the only AFC North coach who kept their job this spring, and he has pretty much full staff continuity to lean on.

Six Hot Seats

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talks about newly signed defense tackle Dexter Lawrence in a press conference at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, April 20, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Taylor, Aaron Glenn, Todd Bowles, Shane Steichen, Matt LeFleur, and Nick Sirianni all made the list. Glenn and Steichen are the only ones who haven't won a division title with their team so far.

"Taylor’s career in Cincinnati has continued to vacillate, going from a horrid start to a Super Bowl appearance to back on the downward swing," Locker wrote. "Recent history hasn’t been on the head coach’s side, as the Bengals have missed the playoffs in each of the last three campaigns despite fielding tremendous offensive star power. In particular, the 2025 season was very poor, with a 6-11 mark and a 20th-overall team PFF grade.

"Cincinnati’s defense has remained among the league’s worst since 2024 — placing 28th in EPA per play, 29th in success rate, and 29th in touchdown drive rate given up in that span. The Bengals made legitimate upgrades to the unit in Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook for incumbent defensive coordinator Al Golden, but the bottom line is that the unit simply needs to play far better. It was a bit of a surprise that Taylor was retained to begin with, going into 2026, but he can’t afford another slip-up season. As pressure continues to mount surrounding Joe Burrow’s future in Cincinnati, the Bengals’ front office shouldn’t be passive in keeping its star quarterback happy — and the broader team oriented well."

Those defensive numbers have heavily held Taylor's teams back, but maybe just maybe this offseason was enough to fix things and let his offense really drive wins in the final moments.

Taylor has proven to be a strong offensive coach this decade and has full buy-in from the front office and locker room. He's earned that trust through great relationship building and evidence that he can win at the highest level when given the right tools.

Vibes are as high as ever in the Bengals locker room, and Taylor can quickly exit lists like these with a fast start against the NFL's third-easiest schedule based on 2026 opponent projected win totals.

"Players, coaches, personnel, ownership — very united right now. So now, we have to go do the work," Taylor said after the 2026 NFL Draft. "The coaches have to do a great job putting these guys in the right spots, getting the most out of them, and the players have got to go work. They've got to work to build the chemistry with a lot of new players we brought in, bring the rookies up to speed, and get it done on the field. I'm confident that this is a group that's really hungry to do that."

Check out the full hot-seat list here.

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