Bengals have kept an important secret about Zac Taylor, which now changes how his job security looks
Zac Taylor was always likely to return as the Bengals’ head coach in 2026 thanks to a secret hidden by Cincinnati.
As the Cincinnati Bengals’ season continues to spiral in the wrong direction, questions about head coach Zac Taylor’s job security have become more rampant.
Reaching Super Bowl LVI earned Taylor a new five-year contract on Feb. 16, 2022. The extension has kept him employed in Cincinnati ever since, and the end of the 2026 season was set to be the expiration of the deal.
This has been known since the deal was signed a few days after that Super Bowl, and when talking about Taylor’s future, it’s been a crucial barrier to his being fired. The Bengals have always been resistant to making coaching changes when the coach has multiple years remaining on his contract.
The last year of that contract is now right around the corner, which is why Taylor’s future has come into question with the team 4-10 on the season, but a new report now puts the entire discussion on hold.
New report reveals Zac Taylor received a separate contract extension
Taylor’s first year after being extended was a successful one. Cincinnati went 12-4 in the 2022 regular season and won two more playoff games in the postseason before losing the AFC Championship Game.
It was so successful that, following the playoffs, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., Taylor received another new five-year contract.
“Contrary to prior reports, Taylor actually has two years remaining on his contract after this season, not one. He signed a five-year extension following the Super Bowl season. Then, after reaching the AFC Championship Game in the 2022 season, he signed another five-year extension through the 2027 campaign.” — The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.
The deal was not a five-year extension on top of the five-year contract he signed a year earlier, but a brand-new deal that runs through 2027.
And this changes, well, everything.
If Taylor is indeed already under contract through 2027, and has been since the beginning of 2023, then the idea of him being fired at the end of this season becomes far less likely. That’s two whole years of salary the Bengals still owe him.
Cincinnati fired Taylor’s predecessor, Marvin Lewis, after the 2018 season, when Lewis’ contract ran through 2019. Lewis was kept for a total of 16 seasons. Taylor is three weeks from wrapping up his seventh year on the job.
Moving on from a long-time coach with one year remaining has precedent; doing so with two years of pay left does not.
This practically erases any speculation of Taylor’s possible dismissal in the coming weeks. Still, now that his updated contract has been reported on, it begs the question of why the Bengals kept it secret for years.
And if they’re in a position to avoid transparency in that way.
Why didn’t the Bengals announce Taylor’s newest contract?
It is not standard practice to announce contract extensions for coaches, as those are often reported after the fact. The Green Bay Packers extended coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst, and executive vice president Russ Ball during the 2022 offseason, only for those extensions to be reported months later.
Several months and nearly three calendar years later are two separate beasts.
Cincinnati has sat on this information waiting for someone to publicize it. Taylor’s tenure has only gotten worse since the deal makes it look all the more foolish.
Bringing back Taylor, along with director of player personnel Duke Tobin and defensive coordinator Al Golden, is the likely outcome, per Dehner’s report. Cincinnati is on track to enter the 2026 offseason without any notable change to the coaching staff or personnel department after missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
That is going to be an extremely difficult sell to the fanbase, which is growing increasingly impatient with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins‘ talents being wasted.
If the Bengals want to run it back with their operations that have not produced a postseason appearance since 2022, the very least they can do is be transparent about it. It’s already going to be a tough start to the offseason for the fans who want change.
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