I like Zac as a person, he seems like a decent enough chap. But this year is make or break. He either needs to win or he needs to be replaced.

(04-23-2021, 12:09 PM)ochocincos Wrote: The bolded falls more on Lou Anarumo, no?
Anarumo definitely shouldn't have been kept.
Perfect opportunity to go get Wade Phillips, but they didn't.

Ocho who's the leader of the team? 

Who makes the decision to keep Anarumo?  Zac makes those decisions. 

So you succeed or fail based upon decisions made as a leader. 

I think the 2 biggest errors that Zac made when he took over 2 years ago was hiring Lou and keeping him as the DC, and keeping the OC responsibilities to himself. 

(04-23-2021, 12:15 PM)TJ528 Wrote: Ocho who's the leader of the team? 

Who makes the decision to keep Anarumo?  Zac makes those decisions. 

So you succeed or fail based upon decisions made as a leader. 

I think the 2 biggest errors that Zac made when he took over 2 years ago was hiring Lou and keeping him as the DC, and keeping the OC responsibilities to himself. 

Losing the lead falls on Anarumo, but keeping Anarumo falls on Taylor and the FO.

I agree with the 2 biggest errors you list.

(04-23-2021, 11:48 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Like I said his resume did not equate to turning
A franchise around and did not spell out
Successful head coach

This is another good point.

I would be willing to give Zac some more slack if he had some history of turning teams around or any success at all.

I'm not saying I disagree with what McGee said, but I reiterate that he's a bitter, angry person.

There's being critical of the team and then there's constantly taking shots, every opportunity you get.

He is the latter, not the former; his name popped up on the interview/podcast circuit, for the first time last year (do correct me if I'm wrong) and he has been nothing but incessantly negative about a guy he probably knows very little.

If he had gotten into the higher coaching ranks after retiring or moved around from place to place, honing his craft, I can see him coming from a place of experience and knowledge, but the tone and negative nature of his criticism of Zac is interpreted by me (it may be wrong, just my POV) as that he just doesn't like the guy for whatever reason.

Therefore, until he gets away from the Elise Jesse School of hyper-negativity and bashing, I'm not taking a word he says seriously, as he comes off as a bitter, angry, old man.

(04-23-2021, 01:38 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: I'm not saying I disagree with what McGee said, but I reiterate that he's a bitter, angry person.

There's being critical of the team and then there's constantly taking shots, every opportunity you get.

He is the latter, not the former; his name popped up on the interview/podcast circuit, for the first time last year (do correct me if I'm wrong) and he has been nothing but incessantly negative about a guy he probably knows very little.

If he had gotten into the higher coaching ranks after retiring or moved around from place to place, honing his craft, I can see him coming from a place of experience and knowledge, but the tone and negative nature of his criticism of Zac is interpreted by me (it may be wrong, just my POV) as that he just doesn't like the guy for whatever reason.

Therefore, until he gets away from the Elise Jesse School of hyper-negativity and bashing, I'm not taking a word he says seriously, as he comes off as a bitter, angry, old man.

I don't know what he was doing in the 90's, but I can completely understand fans being more upset right now than at any point since 2002.

You don't have to be a "bitter person" to complain about a head coach with just 6 wins in 2 seasons.

I hate to be cynical about it, but I've long thought that Burrow vouching for Zac was a response to common perception- not among fans, but among players. And not just any players, but free agent players. As if what McGee is saying is widely held throughout the league and preventing the team from landing big names on the market.

I could be wrong about that. But I've always seen Burrow's backing of Zac as a means to an end rather than a full-throated endorsement.

(04-23-2021, 01:38 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: I'm not saying I disagree with what McGee said, but I reiterate that he's a bitter, angry person.

There's being critical of the team and then there's constantly taking shots, every opportunity you get.

He is the latter, not the former; his name popped up on the interview/podcast circuit, for the first time last year (do correct me if I'm wrong) and he has been nothing but incessantly negative about a guy he probably knows very little.

If he had gotten into the higher coaching ranks after retiring or moved around from place to place, honing his craft, I can see him coming from a place of experience and knowledge, but the tone and negative nature of his criticism of Zac is interpreted by me (it may be wrong, just my POV) as that he just doesn't like the guy for whatever reason.

Therefore, until he gets away from the Elise Jesse School of hyper-negativity and bashing, I'm not taking a word he says seriously, as he comes off as a bitter, angry, old man.

What is he supposed to.say??......ZT has this team 
In the right direction....cmon.
Promise you this...if ZT is fired this year it will his
1st and last NFL HC job.

He ain't lying! Zac Taylor qualifies statistically has one of the 10 worst head coaches in NFL history that has at least 32 games.

Zac Taylor is one of a handful of coaches to even get a 3rd year with the same team with a winning percentage under .250 in their first two years.

Hopefully that changes, but if he net's us another 2-4 wins this year he's got to go. We were playing better down the stretch, would have liked to seen our record with Burrow for the entirety of all last year.

But in the words of David Byrne "qu'est-ce que c'est!"

(04-23-2021, 02:28 PM)impactplaya Wrote: What is he supposed to.say??......ZT has this team 
In the right direction....cmon.
Promise you this...if ZT is fired this year it will his
1st and last NFL HC job.

He can keep his mouth shut.

(04-23-2021, 02:32 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: He can keep his mouth shut.

Number 85 speaks the truth. Sometimes truth is like bitter tea
Very difficult to  digest. 
Just face up.to it. ZT isnt made out to be a HC.
Tim McGee is allowed to voice his opinions

(04-23-2021, 02:44 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Number 85 speaks the truth. Sometimes truth is like bitter tea
Very difficult to  digest. 
Just face up.to it. ZT isnt made out to be a HC.
Tim McGee is allowed to voice his opinions

sad to say that Tim McGee contributed more to this franchise in 8 years than ZT has in 2 years.

McGee helped lead this team to Super Bowl 23.  Had 1,200 yards receiving. 

Not a bad career considering the other receiving options those teams had.  

I'd say he's highly qualified to talk the good and bad involving this franchise.  

I mean he's seen the previous worst coach in franchise history, and maybe now he sees the next worst coach in history.  

  

(04-23-2021, 02:44 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Number 85 speaks the truth. Sometimes truth is like bitter tea
Very difficult to  digest. 
Just face up.to it. ZT isnt made out to be a HC.
Tim McGee is allowed to voice his opinions

He's insignificant, has been, I need my moment in the spotlight blowhard that is jealous he's not leading this team.

(04-24-2021, 02:48 AM)sandwedge Wrote: He's insignificant, has been, I need my moment in the spotlight blowhard that is jealous he's not leading this team.

So if his only reason for complaining about Zac is his "jealousy he's not leading the team" then how do you explain the hundreds of people here who say the exact same thing.

You honestly think we are all just jealous?  That is the only possible reason you see that could make someone complain about a head coach who has won only 6 games in 2 seasons?



Unlike you and me Tim McGee is a former player who sacrificed his body for this team.  His identity and history are tied to this team.  He has every right in the world to speak his mind about this team.

(04-24-2021, 02:48 AM)sandwedge Wrote: He's insignificant, has been, I need my moment in the spotlight blowhard that is jealous he's not leading this team.

from what I understand Mcgee never put his name in to be coach. After football he we on to be an agent for athletes. 

Just because someone more qualified than you at football has an opinion doesn't make him a blow hard.

What it does is makes him someone who's been around a shitty coach before so it makes him qualified to talk about another shitty (so far) coach.

(04-23-2021, 10:32 AM)TJ528 Wrote: https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/former-bengals-receiver-tim-mcgee-questions-zac-taylor

In this article, I think Tim McGee hits on everything correctly, and I love this quote from him:

“You’re as good as your leader or as bad as your leader. Give me something positive. I beg, please,” McGee said. “I want to talk positively. The Bengals organization has helped my family immensely, but I can’t dummy your eyes up and sell you on something that’s not there. What’s not there is the fact that they have an unproven coach and in two years... I mean it’s pathetic. It’s absolutely pathetic. That doesn’t mean he is not working extremely hard, or the staff is not working extremely hard, they want it. From what I understand he’s down there, he’s dedicated, he puts the time in, the effort in, but there’s one thing you can’t teach. You can’t teach leadership skills, it has to be something that is inside of you.”

You cant teach leadership.  

I'm really hoping that Zac turns it around this year, but I'm a realist and I want to talk positively about everythign with this franchise, but what are they giving me to talk positive about?  Uniforms? Social Media?  Burrow?  

Anyone who's seen my post know I've said as of right now, Zac is our modern day Dave Shula and Tim McGee pretty much says so in this statement:

“I heard he’s a super nice guy, and remember, I played under Dave Shula," McGee said. "I know what type of man he was. He was a phenomenal man, great dad, and great person to go to dinner with, but going into a football battle? That wasn’t the best person to go into that situation with. Just to be fair, I don’t think Zac has proven that he is that guy.”

You can be a hell of a guy, who knows a lot about football, but suck at coaching in the NFL.

Who said: "Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible."?

I've posted the stats before about the incredibly low odds that a coach has any success after having 5 or less wins in their 1st 2 seasons. Hopefully, Zac can buck that trend and have a winning season this year, and continue to build on it going forward.
 

(04-24-2021, 11:16 AM)Bengalholic Wrote: I've posted the stats before about the incredibly low odds that a coach has any success after having 5 or less wins in their 1st 2 seasons. Hopefully, Zac can buck that trend and have a winning season this year.
 

I'd be more discouraged by that if I thought we lost a lot of games last year due to coaching. We didn't. We lost games because the Defensive line could not get pressure with 4th string guys, and we trotted out Cornerbacks like Sims due to injuries, that opposing QB's could target all day. Our #1 receiver evidently still couldn't run, our #1 RB got injured. Yet we were still right in most of the games even when Burrow went down. All I want is a relatively healthy season for him to truly tell if he has it or not. If the team remains mostly healthy, and we have a losing season, then cut bait.

(04-24-2021, 11:22 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I'd be more discouraged by that if I thought we lost a lot of games last year due to coaching. We didn't. We lost games because the Defensive line could not get pressure with 4th string guys, and we trotted out Cornerbacks like Sims due to injuries, that opposing QB's could target all day. Our #1 receiver evidently still couldn't run, our #1 RB got injured. Yet we were still right in most of the games even when Burrow went down. All I want is a relatively healthy season for him to truly tell if he has it or not. If the team remains mostly healthy, and we have a losing season, then cut bait.

Anyone remember when the biggest thing the Zac crowd was excited about was "accountability"?

Now we have a coach with only 6 wins in two years and suddenly coaching does not matter.  Nothing bad about this team can be blamed on the coaching.

Zac gets credit for making personnel decisions to bring in good new players, but he has nothing to do with giving Preston Brown an extension and tagging Green.

The coaches can't be blamed for "4th string guys" not getting pressure, but they have nothing to do with driving away one of the most consistently productive DEs in the league.

Offensive and defense schemes have noting to do with the team's lack of success.

But hey, at least Zac is big on "Accountability".   

(04-24-2021, 12:06 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Anyone remember when the biggest thing the Zac crowd was excited about was "accountability"?

Now we have a coach with only 6 wins in two years and suddenly coaching does not matter.  Nothing bad about this team can be blamed on the coaching.

Zac gets credit for making personnel decisions to bring in good new players, but he has nothing to do with giving Preston Brown an extension and tagging Green.

The coaches can't be blamed for "4th string guys" not getting pressure, but they have nothing to do with driving away one of the most consistently productive DEs in the league.

Offensive and defense schemes have noting to do with the team's lack of success.

But hey, at least Zac is big on "Accountability".   

No coach is perfect and makes every decision correctly. If he gets the blame for Brown and Green, he also gets the credit for Reader, Bell, Alexander and Waynes.  And yes, accountability is benching one of the most productive DE's in the league when that DE lays down and does not perform. Dunlap was not good last year because he didn't want to be because he was still pouting about getting kicked out of a park, and was more concerned with Mike Brown's response than he was getting to the Quarterback.