Joe Burrow let his feelings about Bengals personnel matters be known last year, when he offered staunch support for the team extending Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. The superstar quarterback went 1-for-2 on that front, but the effort did show the power he wields in the building.
Burrow comments about a lack of satisfaction presently raised eyebrows around the league, as the Bengals are wrapping a third straight season that will fall short of the playoffs. While voicing an expectation he’d be part of the 2026 Bengals, Burrow did not shut the door on potentially playing elsewhere down the road. Some took these efforts as Burrow applying pressure on the Bengals, but the heat the QB may or may not be putting on the franchise does not appear to pertain to Zac Taylor.
The seventh-year Cincinnati HC has Burrow’s full support, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Taylor has taken criticism for not having the Bengals ready to play early in seasons, as a host of September losses have hurt in playoff pushes, but he has been at the helm throughout Burrow’s career. Burrow does not appear eager to transition to a new system, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report Taylor is indeed safe for 2026.
Taylor, 42, made the rare jump from the quarterbacks coach level to HC, vaulting from the Rams’ QBs coach to Bengals HC. While Taylor’s first year went poorly, the Bengals timed their faceplant well. The 2-14 season landed them Burrow at No. 1 overall, much to the Dolphins’ chagrin, and he transformed the franchise’s fortunes.
Taylor guided the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and then had them in the 2022 AFC championship game, where a crucial final-minute late hit helped the Chiefs escape the visitors’ charge. Since then, however, the Bengals have fallen off the AFC’s top tier. Burrow injuries in 2023 and ’25 defined those seasons, but he played throughout 2024 and saw the team’s defensive issues deny a playoff spot.
The Bengals had been expected to neither tinker with their HC or GM roles, with de facto GM Duke Tobin also expected back. While Burrow throwing support behind Taylor is certainly important for the sideline leader’s status, is the passer’s perceived issue with the front office? Tobin has been with Cincinnati since 1999, being an integral part of Mike Brown‘s operation. The Bengals have drifted southward in the NFL hierarchy during the mid-2020s, and Burrow has let it be known he is not exactly thrilled with the way things have gone.
Teams are expected to call the Bengals on Burrow, but that is unlikely to matter much. Burrow is one of the game’s best quarterbacks and plays for an organization known for digging its heels in against player demands. See: the Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart 2025 matters for recent examples. The Bengals remain committed to Burrow, and based on Sunday morning’s classification of Taylor’s status, the head coach has an important backer. But a turnaround will need to come in 2026. Taylor and Tobin will be the ones leading the way yet again.