Cincinnati Bengals sign head coach Zac Taylor to contract extension through 2026 season
Zac Taylor will remain as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals through the 2026 season. Meanwhile, he also confirmed that Joe Burrow sprained his MCL in the Super Bowl, but the quarterback will not need surgery.
Wednesday 16 February 2022 16:47, UK
The Cincinnati Bengals have signed head coach Zac Taylor to a contract extension, that will see him remain at the helm through the 2026 season.
It comes off the back of Taylor leading the AFC North side to their first Super Bowl in 34 years.
Although the flagship game ultimately ended in disappointment for the Bengals with a 23-20 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, Taylor has been rewarded with a new deal.
Since taking charge of the Bengals at the start of the 2019 season, Taylor has engineered one of the most incredible turnarounds in NFL history. The 38-year-old led them to a 2-14 campaign in his first year. They improved to 4-11-1 in 2020, before finishing 10-7 and claiming the AFC Championship this past season.
Taylor was entering the final season of the original four-year contract he signed in 2019.
"Zac has come into the league and worked to develop the foundations for a winning programme that can be successful over time," said Bengals president Mike Brown.
"The fruits of Zac's efforts were seen this year, and Zac is well-regarded by our players and coaches. I know the effort and passion Zac brings to the building and to our team, and I am pleased by his approach. And I think the city of Cincinnati sees him the way the players and I do. He's brought excitement to the town and deserves credit and recognition for that."
Burrow sprained MCL in Super Bowl
Burrow will not require surgery for the MCL sprain sustained in Sunday's Super Bowl LVI defeat.
Burrow was limping noticeably after being sacked for the seventh time with 11:38 left in the fourth quarter.
"Joe had the sprained MCL, and that's really a re-aggravation of something he did back in December," Taylor said. "But he's a tough guy, he played through it. Rest is going to be the best thing for him. So that part's encouraging.
"He's going to get some much-needed rest here these next couple of weeks and expect him to come back fully healthy."
Taylor also said Burrow won't need surgery for the finger he dislocated late in the season.
Burrow, 25, completed 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against the Rams.
The 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year completed a league-best 70.4 percent of his passes for 4,611 yards, 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during the regular season.
Bengals looking to bounce back next season
Despite the Super Bowl defeat, the Bengals are looking to build on what was an impressive 2021 season.
"Obviously it stings," Burrow said after the loss. "But we had a great year. It didn't come out this last game the way we wanted. We still have something to celebrate.
"We have to let it fuel us for the rest of our careers. We are going to at least celebrate what we did this year."
"These playoff games weren't easy," added Taylor. "And even beyond that, we had some tough games, and our guys proved that they can do a lot of great in those situations and put us in these moments. And you just have to continue to build off that."
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