Insider says Zac Taylor doubters need to admit they were wrong

When the Cincinnati Bengals hired head coach Zac Taylor in 2019, many had said it was an ill-fated attempt “to find the next Sean McVay.”

But SI.com NFL insider Albert Breer believes that after two AFC Championship Game appearances — and after Sunday potentially two Super Bowl appearances — that Taylor has not only proved his detractors wrong but he’s also owed an apology.

“We should want more teams to think outside the box in hiring their coaches,” Breer explained. “Taylor was an outside-the-box hire, and one based on things other than whether he carried a play sheet in his hands on Sundays in his old job. Did he get a little lucky that the Bengals were the worst team in the league the year Joe Burrow was coming out? Sure he did. But even taking that into account, the Bengals hit a home run. And it’d be cool if some people who were wrong in 2019 could concede it.”