Is this really on the front office?

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(11-26-2020, 07:55 PM)sonofstat Wrote: However, when ZT was hired there was a view that as rookie head coach gigs go actually he was in a good spot.  

1. Ownership that was loyal - to a fault
2. Cupboard not bare with talent left over from playoff teams - Atkins, Green, Mixon, Dunlap, Boyd, Dunlap, Bates, Eifert, Gio, Hubbard
3. Capable , proven starting QB in Dalton
4. Inherited a stable locker room culture which consistently played hard under Marv even in tough times
5. Was backed by Front office to bring in 'his guys' onto coaching staff...believe only Simmons was a requested carryover
6. Loosened the purse strings and actually been somewhat active in Free agency
7. Low expectation/pressure from a smaller market franchise and media

Even when his team failed miserably in year 1...

7. Sucked so bad  that we got #1 pick in the year a franchise QB/Joe Burrow was consensus first pick

With all the above and with the atrocious 2 year record we are heading towards I really do put this squarely on ZT's door step.

1.  The advantage with loyal to a fault ownership is that if you get off to a rocky start in your first two years they don't fire you. You can't then use this as the number one reason to sack him within 2 years.


2. This was probably fans overrating players. Green and Atkins were genuinely elite players but it turns out injuries have taken their toil and they were no longer the players they once were. The only other probowlers in those listed were Eifert (who was by then already a shadow of his former self) and Dunlap (wrong side of 30). Of the rest named only Gio was on a play-off team.

3. Fair point.

4. Did people other than Fred argue this?

5. Possibly. We know he didn't get his first choice DC, or his second choice, or even his third or fourth choice. When talks broke down how much was that on the Front Office?

6. In his first season they signed 5 free agents - John Miller 3 years $16.5m, BW Webb $10.5m for 3 years, Kerry Wynn  $1.4m for 1 year, Justin Evans $.049m 1 year and John Jerry $0.9m for 1 year. That's the opposite of backing.

7. I don't see this as an advantage, expect perhaps in regards to 1.


If that's your case for why Taylor should go it's weak.

For me the case against Taylor would start with the 2019 draft. The Bengals had 12(?) picks but other than the 11th overall pick they have little to show for it. Drew Sample was a reach in the second round. Pratt in the third round is a disappointment. They traded up for Finley in the 4th and that's now officially a bust - for a supposed QB whisperer that is a terrible indictment on his judgement and coaching. Wren hasn't done anything. They traded back into the 4th for Jordan and that hasn't worked. The two running backs haven't done anything (Anderson was worth the gamble, it didn't work out but I won't hold that against them in the 6th), Davis (6th round) and Brown (7th) couldn't even make the practice squad.

I expect the Bengals hierarchy to look at how much better the 2020 draft was than the 2019 draft. It may be that Zac has learnt lessons from that first draft when they went in underprepared. I suspect ownership will give him the benefit of the doubt on that.

But for me it should be Tobin in the hot seat. It was Tobin involved in picking Taylor. It was Tobin who was involved in signing Atkins, Dunlap, Green etc to their contracts. If Zac was inexperienced in 2019 draft, Tobin doesn't have that excuse. It's Tobin who drafted Price, Ross, Ogbuehi. It's Tobin's roster who looked so tired and jaded in need of a rebuild. It's Tobin who kept Finley AND Dolegala on the roster last year; who is carrying two kickers on it this year.