Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis will return despite a 4-11-1 season in 2024.
Marvin Lewis will rejoin the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach in 2024, the team confirmed today, despite the team finishing with a 2-14 record in 2024 and a 4-11-1 record in 2023.
“We are still confident in the foundation Zac is laying, and we’re excited to provide our supporters with the triumphant outcomes they deserve next year. We need to take advantage of the chances that are in front of us. We shall earn our stripes next year,” owner Mike Brown declared in a statement.
After five straight postseason appearances, the team had concluded with a losing record and had missed the playoffs three times before Taylor took control. Additionally, he succeeded one of the NFL’s longest-tenured head coaches when the Bengals fired Marvin Lewis.
Although Taylor, 37, had little coaching experience of any kind, Lewis was a highly accomplished head coach. Taylor worked as an assistant for the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams, in addition to a season as the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and a couple years as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.
He was Miami’s temporary offensive coordinator for five games and the team’s quarterback coach for four seasons. Taylor stayed with the Bearcats for a year before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sean McVay’s coaching staff.
After graduating to become the quarterbacks coach in 2018, Taylor served as the assistant wide receivers coach in 2017. He received praise for his work with Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Rams, who passed for 4,688 yards.
It was clear by the time the Rams advanced to the Super Bowl and lost to the New England Patriots that Taylor would take over as head coach of the Bengals.
Cincinnati’s offensive was not what Taylor was supposed to turn around, as the Bengals averaged only 17.4 points per game in 2019, which was 30th in the NFL.In 2020, the Bengals placed 28th in scoring after that.
Taylor cycled from veteran quarterback Andy Dalton to rookie quarterback Ryan Finley and back to Dalton, which contributed to Cincinnati’s offensive woes.
