Will We Ever Go All-In On Our O-Line?

[Soonerpeace]

(06-07-2025, 09:09 PM)puddycat Wrote: Zac Taylor was a college QB, a QB coach, and now is a QB head coach.  The farther a position is from directly affecting QB play the less he knows.  This means he knows jack about the offensive line or the entire defense.  He is entirely at the mercy of however he hires a DC or OL coordinator. and isn't even helpful if they come to him with concerns because he doesn't speak their language.
The Bengals tried the money and free agent route after their Super Bowl loss and have worked their way around to the draft route.  But no, the Bengals will never have an elite OL so long as their head coach knows nothing about the offensive line.

There’s a lot of truth here but you maybe overselling it. Zac probably has the least control of his team and staff as 20% of NFL coaches. But he was allowed to hire his staff. After the Turner debacle he agreed with the Pollack hire. The players liked Pollack but Zac wasn’t high on his instruction and development. The scouting department also relies on the coaches opinions in drafting a lot. Pollack was retained way too long. It will be interesting as there’s no question the depth and competition is the best in a very long time. But there are plenty of benefits to a QB head coach.