Heat's on these 2025 Cincinnati Bengals... exactly how Zac Taylor likes it
Stadium issues. Hendrickson drama. There's A LOT of noise around these Bengals. The good news? They've got a head coach who thrives in the noise. Here's why the Bengals are ready to make their move.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The man central to one of the most compelling teams this 2025 NFL season craves this inherent pressure. At the sprawling Breakers Hotel, AFC head coaches are scattered across different tables to chat with reporters. All state of the union addresses are cheery because all 32 coaches can realistically convey a sense of hope this time of year.
Even then, Zac Taylor stands out.
He’s the first coach to arrive and the last to leave. At no point does he display the slightest hint of agitation with any question. Nor does he decelerate into autopilot to pacify the public with gibberish. The Cincinnati Bengals head coach is a blend of blunt (when it comes to his defense), delighted (on those Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins contracts) and — most of all? — reflective. He knows pressure is mounting. He knows a coach in possession of this much talent on offense will never get the benefit of the doubt from constituents. The edict from fans is simple: Win. Yet, he won’t shift into Total Defense Mode like other coaches. Sometimes, it can seem like other coaches are reading their accomplishments off a LinkedIn page.
After coming exceptionally close to Super Bowl glory in back-to-back seasons, the Bengals have now failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Taylor feels the urgency to win. It’s what he loves about pro football.
“You have coach to every single day like your career is on the line. ‘Pressure’ is not the word I like. It’s just the job. That’s what I like about the job,” Taylor said. “I don’t want anybody else to have this job. I want it. You’ve got to have thick skin in this profession, which I love. That’s one of the qualities that’s probably the only thing I care about with myself is that you can endure all that. And it’s exciting to walk into a stadium and people are cheering for you or cheering against you. It’s the greatest feeling in the world that not everyone gets to experience. You can’t replicate a bus ride into a game, can’t replicate walking through a tunnel onto a field for the first time, can’t replicate staying on the sidelines for the national anthem.
“All those things I don’t take for granted and you fight every day to make sure that you can continue to have more of those.”
The stakes have never been higher for this franchise. They locked in Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins. Three players that now account for 44 percent of the team’s cap. For ages, the Bengals were lampooned for not spending money. Now? They’re being mocked ‘n memed for treating the NFL like Madden. This defense — frightening as a basket of kittens in 2024 — may lose its one apex predator. The Trey Hendrickson melodrama is officially contentious. Executive VP Katie Blackburn told reporters that the edge rusher “should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at,” which prompted Hendrickson to unload his frustrations to Pat McAfee a day later. However this contract squabble’s resolved, Cincinnati is betting on youth, thrifty vet signings and — above all — new coordinator Al Golden resuscitating its wretched defense.
There’s also the growing unease concerning the team’s home itself on The Banks in downtown Cincinnati. A key June 30 deadline looms to exercise the first of five two-year rolling extensions at Paycor Stadium. Blackburn isn’t thrilled with the progress toward an agreement with the county. Hamilton County fired back.
A storm is brewing. Without question, 2025 will feel like Super Bowl or Bust for these Cincinnati Bengals.
Never before has the national spotlight shined so brightly on the southwest corner of Ohio.
My No. 1 takeaway from the NFL Owners Meetings is that they’re fully equipped to handle this storm because teams forever embody the personality of their head coach. The effect is both blunt as a Braveheart-level pregame speech and subliminal as a fourth-and-5 punt at midfield. It’s no secret Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions manage to win 15 games despite a barrage of injuries. “Northern savages” are signed off the street to occupy a ravaged roster and the expectation — always — is to fight to the death with a mouthful of kneecap. Nick Sirianni’s sideline swaggering pisses off opponents, but such arrogance works for his Philadelphia Eagles. His Eagles welcome all personalities and figure it out.
For years, a tight coach created a tight team at the worst possible moments in Buffalo. Last season? Sean McDermott clearly evolved into a coach who wants his players to sincerely believe in what can go right instead of what will go wrong.
In Cincinnati, Taylor’s steady calm is the difference. He’s not going to flinch through all of this noise and neither will his team.
Mainly because all he’s known is pressure.