After going 16 seasons with the same head coach, the Bengals have finally fired their first new head coach since 2003.
Cincinnati has agreed to a deal with Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor to become the franchise’s tenth head coach in its history.
The Bengals have taken a risk in hiring the young and relatively inexperienced Taylor after being one of the league’s most stable franchises for the better part of the past two decades under veteran coach Marvin Lewis
Taylor, who is 35 years old, will become the second-youngest coach in the NFL behind the Rams’ Sean McVay, two years his junior.
Cincinnati hopes that hiring Taylor, who has been credited with the development of Rams quarterback Jared Goff, will turn out to be a gamble that pays off.
Taylor spent two seasons between 2005 and 2006 as the quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He then had a couple of brief stints in the Canadian Football League before turning to coaching.
The Bengals’ new head man has also served as quarterbacks coach and for a brief time as offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.
Cincinnati, which hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season, hopes that this roll of the dice will lift their franchise out of the doldrums.
