Former Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor has officially been named the Cincinnati Bengals' next head coach. He also became the first Huskers to be named an NFL head coach in the Super Bowl era.
Zac Taylor has just become the first Husker to be named an @NFL Head Coach in the Super Bowl Era.
You got a good one, @Bengals. 👌#ProBigRed #GBR pic.twitter.com/A6waLmxNVA
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) February 4, 2019
“Zac is a bright coach with an offensive mind and background, which is important to have in today’s NFL,” Bengals president Mike Brown said in the team’s announcement. “And he’s young. He embraces new ideas and new ways to do things, which will be a good thing for us. I believe our team will be exciting and fun to watch with him at the helm.”
Taylor is taking over the Cincinnati franchise from former coach Marvin Lewis, who was with the Bengals from 2003-18. This is Taylor’s first head coaching position, and he most recently served as the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterbacks coach for the 2018 season. He was the wide receivers coach for the Rams in 2017.
Taylor was Nebraska’s quarterback in 2005 and 2006, starting every game those two seasons and winning Big 12 player of the year as a senior. He then played for one year in the Canadian Football League before his coaching career began.
He was agraduate assistant at Texas A&M from 2008–11 before he became an assistant quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2012. He was then promoted to quarterbacks coach in Miami from 2013-15 and later offensive coordinator for the final five games of the 2015 season. Taylor returned to the collegiate ranks in 2016, spending one season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Bearcats. He then moved back into the NFL in 2017 with the Rams.
“I am happy and fortunate to join the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach,” Taylor said in the Bengals’ release. “This is a great organization with good people and a rich history, and I am excited to get started. I am looking to add to that history by setting high standards, and holding everyone here accountable to those standards. There is a lot of work to do, and this is day one. We’re going to attack every day with enthusiasm to get this team ready to go.”
Taylor will be introduced as Cincinatti’s head coach to the media in a news conference at Paul Brown Stadium on Tuesday.
