Bengals gave Zac Taylor a secret contract extension in 2023, per report: Why that matters and what it means

CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday in what was arguably the ugliest loss of Zac Taylor's career. For the first time ever, the Bengals were shut out with Joe Burrow at quarterback and their 24-0 loss to Baltimore means that the Bengals will be missing the playoffs for the third straight year. For most teams, that would be enough to put the coach on the hot seat, but that's likely not going to happen in Cincinnati due to a secret contract extension that Taylor signed. 

The Bengals coach was given a five-year extension after the team's Super Bowl appearance in 2021, which extended his contract through the 2026 season. The general belief was that Taylor was still coaching under that contract, but according to Paul Dehner of The Athletic, the 42-year-old was given another extension following the team's second straight AFC Championship game appearance in January 2023 and that extension pushed the end of his contract through the 2027 season.

If a deal got done, the team never announced it. Taylor was asked on Wednesday whether he was given a secret extension following the 2022 season and he didn't confirm or deny the report. 

"I don't think it really matters," Taylor said. "I coach every day like it's my last."

During his press conference, Taylor definitely sounded like someone who plans on being the team's coach next season and he sounded confident that the Bengals can turn things around in 2026.  

"I've been through years in 2019 and 2020 that were literally you coach every game thinking it's your last game," Taylor said. "I've seen how we responded after that in 2021 and 2022 competing for division titles and championships, so this year is no different for me. It's going through adversity and coaching every game in this profession like it could be your last one. I have a lot of confidence in our staff that we're going to get this turned around and we're going to finish this season really strong and put together a great plan to get back to those championships that I mentioned. Very confident that we can do all that." 

Taylor was asked a second time about his secret extension and he said that he's not going to "respond" to the report. 

With the 4-10 Bengals limping to the finish line in 2025, Taylor was viewed as a coach on the hot seat, but that's almost certainly not the case anymore. 

If he is under contract for two more years, that all but guarantees that he'll be sticking around for the 2026 season. Bengals owner Mike Brown took over full control of the team following the death of his father, Paul, in 1991, and if Mike Brown has proven one thing since then, it's that he's simply not going to fire a coach who has two years left on his deal. In the NFL, coaches get guaranteed contracts and if the Bengals were to fire Taylor after the 2025 season, then Brown would have to pay Taylor for two more years. The frugal Bengals owner has shown time after time that he's not going to pay someone to do nothing. Remember, Brown is the guy who said he wasn't "going to be paying someone who's sitting in jail" during an offseason contract dispute with rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart. 

Brown isn't in the business of giving away free money, so if Taylor is signed through 2027, then there's a good chance he'll be coaching the Bengals through at least 2027. 

Here's a quick look at how each head coaching tenure has ended since Mike Brown took over in 1991: 

• David Shula (1992-1996). Shula signed a five-year contract and he ended up getting fired midway through the fifth year of his deal. The Bengals were 1-6 when Shula was fired during the 1996 season. VERDICT: Fired with nine games left on his deal. 
• Bruce Coslet (1996-2000). Coslet took over as the interim coach after Shula was fired in 1996. He was then hired as the head coach and he kept the job until September 2000 when he decided to QUIT. That's right, the Bengals didn't have to fire him, because Coslet resigned after an 0-3 start. VERDICT: Resigned as head coach. 
• Dick LeBeau (2000-02). LeBeau  took over as the interim coach after Coslet resigned and following the 2000 season, he signed a two-year deal to serve as the head coach. LeBeau went 12-33 during his 2.5 years on the job and the Bengals decided to part ways with him after his contract expired following the 2002 season. VERDICT: Coached out his contract. 
• Marvin Lewis (2003-18). After 11 years of struggles, Lewis turned the franchise around and he ended up sticking with the team for 16 seasons, a period where he led the Bengals to the playoffs seven times. Lewis' final contract extension with the Bengals was a one-year deal that expired in 2018, but had a team option for 2019. The team didn't pick up the option and the two sides decided to part ways following the 2018 season. VERDICT: Coached out his contract. 

If you're scoring at home, that's four coaches over 26 years and only one of them got fired with any payment still due on his contract and that was Shula, who got axed with nine games left on a five-year deal. 

The other thing working in Taylor's favor is that he has the support of Joe Burrow. The Bengals quarterback has been very complimentary of the coaching staff all season and he once again voiced his approval during his press conference on Wednesday. 

"I think we have great coaches," Burrow said. "I think we're consistently being put in positions to make plays and do our best. ... I have a lot of confidence in everybody that's putting together the plans for us week in and week out."

The Bengals have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, but Burrow doesn't blame the coaching staff. The QB has missed a total of 16 games during that span, and it sounds like he thinks his injuries are the big reason why Cincinnati hasn't been to the playoffs since 2022. The Bengals are 3-2 with Burrow as their starter this season, but they went 1-8 without him. 

"We haven't been where we want to be the last three years," Burrow said. "A big part of that is the injuries on my end. It's hard to make an impact on a season when you only play four games."

If Burrow is thinking like that, there's a good chance that the entire organization is thinking like that. It's very possible that Taylor isn't being blamed for the team's failures because the front office believes that the Bengals have simply been dealing with bad luck in the form of Burrow's injuries. 

Burrow did acknowledge that his injuries haven't been the only thing holding the team back. The Bengals star wants to see change, but he didn't specify what he wants the team to do. 

"That's not to say that changes don't need to be made," Burrow said. "I'm not saying personnel or people. I'm just saying what we've been doing hasn't worked the last couple years, so we have to think outside the box and get creative about where we go from here."

The Bengals might make some minor changes this offseason, but one thing that almost certainly won't be doing is replacing their head coach. Taylor has the highest playoff winning percentage of any active head coach, but you have to make the playoffs for that to matter, which is something the Bengals haven't done in three years. 

Based on Brown's history with his head coaches, it seems like a lock that Taylor will be back in 2026, and 2027 also feels like a safe bet, so it seems that Taylor, who was hired in 2019, is likely going to have two more seasons to get things turned around in Cincinnati.