Bengals HC Zac Taylor helped ignite Jared Goff's revival with Lions
Before he had Joe Burrow as his franchise quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor previously helped coach another first-overall pick to a Super Bowl appearance. Taylor notably spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before coming back to Cincinnati, handling a different coaching role in each year under Sean McVay. Taylor was the […]
Before he had Joe Burrow as his franchise quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor previously helped coach another first-overall pick to a Super Bowl appearance.
Taylor notably spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before coming back to Cincinnati, handling a different coaching role in each year under Sean McVay. Taylor was the quarterbacks coach in 2018, when the Rams represented the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII with Jared Goff under center. It was the job that ultimately landed Taylor the one he currently has with the Bengals.
When Taylor left L.A. in 2019, Goff would follow suit just two years later. Little did Goff know there would be a connection to Taylor with his new landing spot across the country.
Goff was traded in 2021 to the rebuilding Detroit Lions, whom had hired Ben Johnson as their tight ends coach a year prior. Johnson happened to coach with Taylor for the Miami Dolphins back in the early 2010s, so he reached out to his former coworker to get an insight on Goff.
Per Dan Pompei of The Athletic, Taylor put in the good word for Johnson's new quarterback, citing that Goff still had unlocked talent that can be used in special ways.
“He’s one of those guys who can make every throw in the book. High-level player,” Taylor relayed in a text to Johnson. He had even reached out to Goff to sing Johnson's praise as a coach.
"Taylor messaged Goff, telling him he would love working with Johnson and that the coach would be great for him. He said even though Johnson wasn’t his position coach, Goff could pick his brain and trust him. Then he called Johnson one of the smartest people he had ever been around." – The Athletic's Dan Pompei
Little did any of them know that Johnson would be promoted to offensive coordinator a year later, and Detroit's offense would start flourishing under his play-calling, and Goff's quarterbacking. Goff followed a passable 2021 season with 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns, and a passer rating of 99.3 in 2022.
Johnson's creative offense got him immediate interest for head coaching gigs around the league, but he opted to stay in Detroit to continue working with Goff. The Lions' current projected win total is set at 9.
When very few pundits believed in Goff resurrecting his career, Taylor helped instilled belief in one of the hottest head coaching candidates in football now. Not bad for a guy who had a cup of joe with Sean McVay once.
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Featured image via © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
