The warm Arizona breeze sweeps through the luxury resort, a sharp contrast to the brutal realities of an NFL season. Back in 2019, Joe Burrow was an Ohio State transfer, Joe Flacco was leaving Baltimore, and Taylor’s youngest daughter, Milly, was still crawling. Now, she plays organized sports, and her father volunteers as a referee on his rare days off. Time moves fast, but Taylor remains firmly planted in Cincinnati.
Only Andy Reid, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan have smiled for the NFL’s annual head coach photo with the same team longer than Taylor. He has outlasted his mentors and peers. Zachary William Taylor has been at his post longer than Dan Campbell in Detroit, longer than his former disciple Ben Johnson in Chicago, and just as long as Matt LaFleur in Green Bay.
He turns 43 later this spring, though the stress of the job ages a man differently.
“I feel old now. I was really young when I came in,” Taylor admitted, acknowledging the toll of the profession. “I’ve got enough gray hairs. One year feels like four.”
You would never guess it by looking at him on the sideline. Through crushing injuries and pandemic-altered seasons, Taylor maintains a flat, emotionless exterior. The man lost his best receiver, A.J. Green, in his very first practice. He navigated a rookie quarterback through the peak of COVID-19. Just last year, his franchise pillars—generational quarterback Joe Burrow and All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson—managed to play a combined 15 games.
“In the five years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen him blink.”
— Charles Burks, Bengals Cornerbacks Coach
Burks calls that stoicism “grace.” Taylor brushes it off as simple survival. There is no room to panic when 53 players look to you for direction.
“That’s for every coach. And every team,” Taylor said regarding the constant adversity. “If you’re just going to sit here and complain about the problems… Half the time you don’t even know half the problems that other teams are dealing with. I’m experienced to know I’m not the only one.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 campaign, the Bengals face a critical juncture. The AFC North remains a bloodbath. Taylor’s ability to keep the locker room focused during the chaotic 2025 injury crisis proved his leadership, but moral victories do not secure playoff seeding.
With Burrow and Hendrickson expected to return to full strength, the pressure shifts from survival to execution. Cincinnati’s front office must use the remainder of this offseason to patch the offensive line and inject youth into the defensive interior. Taylor has the culture locked down; now, he needs the roster to stay intact. If the Bengals can avoid the injury bug that derailed them last fall, Taylor’s eighth season could push Cincinnati right back to the top of the AFC hierarchy.
