Every time the Cincinnati Bengals lose, every time, the competency of Zac Taylor gets put into question. 

What's more American than quick-triggered NFL fans?

The bright lights were back on Taylor once more following the Bengals' 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which backup quarterback Jake Browning struggled just as often as he showed signs of promise, and the run game was as useful as sunscreen on Mercury.  

It was a bad game all around, and like most of the Bengals' six losses this season, the primary culprit was the play of the quarterback. But without Joe Burrow to turn water into wine every drop back, more pressure falls on Taylor to make the most out of Browning. Can he elevate his offense without a star QB to prop him up with expert play-calling?

Probably not. But even for a head coach who's always had fans primed to call for his termination, this is not a good enough reason to hand him the pink slip. 

The most prominent complaint with Taylor is the fact that he's an offensive play-caller who leads an offense that's almost exclusively been inconsistent. Taylor came into Cincinnati with very limited play-calling experience at the NFL level and one year's worth at the collegiate level. 

Nearly five years on the job with that responsibility still attached to his name and the criticisms still pour in on a weekly basis. Some of it most definitely has merit, some of it blatantly ignores personnel issues and flow of the game. Whatever the specific scenario may be, the vitriol always looks the same. It's the trump card for fans with judgement already established. 

It's not hard to see why: Play calls are what everyone can observe. It's the biggest component of Taylor's job that's visible to the public. It's also just one of his many responsibilities. 

The entire structure of football operations is conducted to the head coach's image. Day-to-day life for the Bengals goes by how Taylor sees fit, and the culture that permeates from his players was instilled by him. He didn't just walk into work February of 2019 and kept everything the same from how Marvin Lewis had it. The biggest reason why any of the players on the Bengals are on the team is because Taylor made sure they fit.    

No one needs a refresher on the success Taylor found that his predecessor never could. Only the Kansas City Chiefs have more playoff wins than the Bengals have since 2020. This is where the argument always shifts to the quarterback, and rightfully so.

For as much credit Taylor deserves as head coach of a winning team the previous two seasons, Burrow is the ultimate reason why they went as far as they did. Burrow is undeniably special, but a star quarterback being the most impactful person on a quality football team is anything but special. It's simply how the NFL is.

If the main argument against Taylor is he's propped up by a great quarterback and can't win without him, then Taylor is just like the vast majority of coaches who've come before him, and will come after him. Taylor and Bill Belichick's legacies are vastly different, and yet Tom Brady's existence has proven Belichick would not have anywhere near the same success if he never made Brady the starter all those years ago.

Outside of Kyle Shanahan, a unicorn for maximizing quarterback talent and yet can't win the big one or comeback from a fourth quarter deficit, pretty much any head coach you could ever find will ultimately need a quality quarterback to make it to the promise land. Culture and leadership are essential components to a championship team. High level play from the quarterback trumps everything.

The debate truly boils down to Taylor doing enough outside of play-calling and making the quarterback's life easier to justify his head coaching status. Replacing him with someone who could do better at both sounds promising in theory, but the replacement will also need to do everything else that Taylor does well behind the scenes. 

Play-calling situations can evolve and improve without blowing up the entire operation and risk making things far worse than where they are now.

None of this should be confused with coddling Taylor or head coaches in general. When change is needed, it usually shows in an obvious way. See Brandon Staley or Josh McDaniels. Inexcusable game-management mistakes are the symptoms of coaches who are way in over their heads, and it almost always leads to mistakes at the podium as well.

The Bengals have definite problems, but game management and general situational awareness are consistent strengths of the team. That falls squarely on the head coach relaying it down to all of his assistants and players. Taylor has also failed to provide an example in which the weight of his responsibilities are too much for him. His composure in public spaces indicates he's just as level-headed when the cameras are off.

If Taylor ever shows that his ability to lead a football team has evaporated, his employment should go up in flames along side it. Until then, there's not enough justification for firing him.

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