Bengals' Zac Taylor Has Winning Record vs Rookie Head Coaches, Will Face Another in Former Co-Worker Liam Coen

CINCINNATI – Sunday will mark the 16th time since 2020 that the Cincinnati Bengals’ Zac Taylor will face a rookie head coach.

But the home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars will mark one of the rare instances in which Taylor has matched wits with a rookie head coach that he previously worked alongside on the same staff.

When the Rams promoted Taylor to quarterbacks coach in 2018, they hired Coen to fill Taylor’s previous role as assistant receivers coach.

In January, Jacksonville Coen to be their head coach, and last week he won his debut with a 26-10 triumph of the Carolina Panthers.

“Good job getting that first win. Sometimes they make you wait til December to get that,” Taylor joked, referring to the 0-11 start to his head-coaching career in 2019.

“For Liam to clear it out was good for their well-being,” Taylor added. “But now it's our opponent, so I'm focused on making them unhappy this week.”

Taylor says the genesis of his relationship with Coen dates prior to their working together in Los Angeles.

In 2016 when Taylor was the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, he was watching a film of an upcoming opponent’s defense. But his eyes kept going back to the offense that was attacking them.

“The tape was Maine's offense vs. whoever we were playing. UConn or Temple or whoever it was,” Taylor recalled. “It was a really well coordinated offense, so I looked up who the coaches were, and their coordinator was a guy named Liam Coen.”

Taylor did some research on Coen and saw where he led UMass to the 2006 national championship game and set numerous school records as a quarterback.

“I could see all the traits there,” Taylor said. “Fast forward a couple years later. We needed someone to fill my job (with the Rams). Shane Waldron recommended a guy that he worked with at UMass named Liam Coen. So I jumped on that when I heard the name.

“I said 'I don't know him, but if your tape's your resume, he's pretty dang good.' So we interviewed him, hired him, worked with him for a year and then we've just stayed in touch ever since,” Taylor added.

Coen left the Rams in 2021 to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky. A year later, he was back with Sean McVay as the Rams offensive coordinator.

A year later, he returned to Kentucky as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2024, Cohen took the job as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator.

And on Jan. 24, the Jaguars hired him to be the eighth head coach in franchise history.

This will be the second consecutive time Taylor has faced a rookie head coach who also used to be a co-worker.

Last December, Taylor beat Brian Callahan, his offensive coordinator in Cincinnati from 2019-23, and the Titans 37-27.

That ran Taylor’s record against rookie head coaches to 9-9.

Three of those games came in 2019 when Taylor also was a rookie head coach – vs. Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals, Freddie Kitchens and the Browns and Brian Flores and the Dolphins.

Taylor and the Bengals lost all three.

Since his rookie year, Taylor has gone 9-6 against the rookie head coaches.

Here is the list:

Brian Callahan – Bengals 37, Titans 27 in Week 15, 2024

Antonio Pierce – Bengals 41, Raiders 24 in Week 9, 2024

Dave Canales – Bengals 34, Panthers 24 in Week 4, 2024

Jerod Mayo – Patriots 16, Bengals 10 in Week 1, 2024

Jonathan Gannon – Bengals 34, Cardinals 20 in Week 5, 2023

DeMeco Ryans – Texans 30, Bengals 27 in Week 10, 2023

Shane Steichen – Bengals 34, Colts 14 in Week 14, 2023

Mike McDaniel – Bengals 27, Dolphins 15 in Week 4, 2022

Brandon Staley – Chargers 41, Bengals 22 in Week 13, 2021

Rich Bisaccia – Bengals 32, Raiders 13 in Week 11, 2021

Robert Saleh – Jets 34, Bengals 31 in Week 8, 2021

Dan Campbell – Bengals 34, Lions 11 in Week 6, 2021

Urban Meyer – Bengals 24, Jaguars 21 in Week 4, 2021

Joe Judge – Giants 19, Bengals 17 in Week 12, 2020

Kevin Stefanski – Browns 35, Bengals 30 in Week 2, 2020