Zac deserves a lot of credit

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(03-17-2025, 10:21 AM)CJD Wrote: Did Zac create the culture, or did Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase create the culture?

I remember that, in 2019 and a lot of 2020, the veterans on the team had big problems with how Zac was running the team. He did himself no favors by benching Andy Dalton on his birthday in 2019, just in time to not be able to trade him, and then releasing him after the draft when Joe Burrow was drafted (after free agency was over and most of the starting roles were set in stone across the league)

Then Carlos Dunlap's demotion and subsequent media engagement about the arguments.

You could argue some of this was above Zac's head, but this article references moments in real time that Zac did to alienate players on his team, in team meetings and the like.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/zac-taylor-bengals-culture-problem

Winning heals many wounds though, and that winning has a lot to do with what Joe and Ja'Marr (and Tee) built with this offense.

I don't dislike Zac Taylor or think he should be fired. But I also don't think he was the catalyst to making this team what it is today. I think he's a perfectly average head coach who happens to have an elite QB and WR trio.

Demoting Dunlap and Dalton was about creating the culture he wanted.

Burrow is a huge part of his success but Zac has consistently empowered Joe.

Everyone likes to put a lot of store in the NFLPA rankings for things like food and family care when they are negative but the fact that Zac Taylor was rated an A by his players went largely uncommented on. Similarly whilst everyone now loves Ja’Marr and thinks his selection was a no-brainer at the time he wasn’t the popular choice as most wanted Sewell. Sewell is a fine player but we don’t go to the Super Bowl without Chase.

Zac is largely in the position where if things go right others get the credit but if things go wrong it’s his fault.