Bengals HC Zac Taylor Talks New-Look Defense, Burrow & More with Rich

Zac Taylor came back on the Rich Eisen Show with the look of a head coach who thinks his roster finally matches his ambition, and he was not shy about saying so.

The big theme is the new-look Bengals defense. Cincinnati spent the offseason adding pieces, and the headline move was flipping the 10th overall pick to New York for Dexter Lawrence. Taylor was in Chicago watching his son play basketball when the news came, and had to turn around and fly back to greet his new defensive tackle.

"Our organization was willing to give up the 10th overall pick, which is a big deal, for a known quantity that's going to come in here, provide leadership," Taylor said. He called Lawrence "a foundational part of any defense" and stacked him alongside Jonathan Allen, Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe as veterans meant to lift the unit and pull along the young players the Bengals are counting on.

When Rich asked straight out whether Taylor felt he had fixed that side of the ball, the coach stopped short of declaring victory. "We put ourselves in a really good spot," he said, before adding the caveat that he has been through plenty of seasons where expectations were high and the work still had to come. He likes the blend of experience and the team chemistry, but he is not pretending the job is done.

Joe Burrow runs through the whole conversation, and Taylor pushed back gently on the idea that Bengals fans need to fret over their quarterback's happiness. Cincinnati gets him every day behind the scenes, Taylor said, and what they see is a player who has brought real energy to the offseason. On Burrow's pensive podium comments last year, Taylor declined to make it a thing: that was between Burrow and his press conference, and the version that walks into the building every day was giving the staff his best.

What Taylor wanted to highlight was Burrow's leadership in building the locker room. "Joe's really gone across the ball and got to know these guys," he said, singling out the new acquisitions and the rookies Burrow has been coaching up. The quarterback sets the tone by working, Taylor explained, and every player and coach sees him "trying to outwork everybody at every aspect." Asked to describe him, Taylor landed on confidence: Burrow is comfortable in his own skin, genuine, and wants to win championships "more than anything on this earth." No one in the building, Taylor said, would trade him for anybody.

The AFC North got a little friendlier, too. With Myles Garrett traded to the Rams, Rich asked if Taylor was happy to be done seeing him twice a year. "Yes, I am," Taylor said, calling Garrett "the most dominant player in the NFL" and noting the Bengals have seen enough of him over the years. When the trade broke during practice, Taylor admitted there were "a couple smiles," because Garrett had caused his team problems on every snap for seven years.

Taylor cut off the easy narrative on the schedule, embracing the Week 6 bye and the international game against Atlanta in Madrid, where the Bengals have already sent people to scout. He waved off a Rams Super Bowl matchup as "a problem down the road that I can't wait to have to solve." For now, the work is chemistry, and Taylor sounds convinced the pieces are there.