sign in:  cincinnati bengals hired Zachary William Taylor because of …

 cincinnati bengals hired Zachary William Taylor because of …

With Zac Taylor taking the helm as head coach, the Cincinnati Bengals front office seems to be stepping outside of its comfort zone, but it might be the risk the team needs.

Despite his relative lack of NFL experience, the 35-year-old Taylor was officially hired by the Bengals on Monday as their tenth head coach. Naturally, the aim behind the move is that Taylor, who was the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterbacks coach for one season, may replicate the success Sean McVay had with the Rams in Cincinnati.

Of all, there aren’t many coaches like McVay, 33. Taylor might not be able to restore a team in the same way that McVay did. McVay even has three seasons of experience leading the offense for the Rams before taking over the Washington Redskins.

Taylor’s lone offensive coordinator experience came from a dismal season at the University of Cincinnati in 2016 and an interim position with the Miami Dolphins at the close of the 2015 campaign.

But every coaching hire presents a risk. Tenures like Marvin Lewis’ 16-year stint in Cincinnati are exceedingly rare. Even if Taylor doesn’t work out, it was exactly the risk the Bengals needed to take after years of going the safe route with little success.

Bengals fans needed something to get excited about again. As the postseason win drought stretched to a 28th season this year, it was clear some fans had started to give up. The empty seats at Paul Brown Stadium sent a message, even when the Bengals started 5-1 this season. They clearly didn’t believe the coaching staff could actually lead the Bengals to a playoff win.

The fans spoke and they got their wish. Hiring Taylor and almost an entirely new staff of coaches this season just might get them to come back.

It’s fairly uncharted territory for the Bengals, who had never even fired a coordinator while a season was in progress before Ken Zampese and Teryl Austin were dismissed in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The Bengals have never been big risk takers when it comes to their coaching staff. The organization was always willing to give a chance to a player with a troubled past, but when it came to the coach, ownership tended to dig in its heels.

When Bengals owner Mike Brown took over in 1991 after his father’s death, his first three hires came from within the organization, and the results were dismal. Hiring Lewis in 2003 was his first outside hire. Lewis was certainly the right hire at the time, but the Bengals hung on too long, believing he was a better option than the unknown.

There were assumptions, based on their history, that the Bengals might go with another safe option this year and hire a former assistant coach such as Vance Joseph or Hue Jackson.