The Cincinnati Bengals are now a historic long shot to make the playoffs after the 0-3 start.
That reality, unfortunately, starts some uncomfortable situations, as missing the postseason would mean missing in three of the five years under Zac Taylor. There was the rebuild and later the Super Bowl berth, among other factors, but that’s still the reality.
Staring down a possible 0-4 start, these are the two biggest names in hot-seat conversation, so let’s take a look.
Lou Anarumo
Without question, Anarumo should be on the hot seat if his defense turns in one more performance like the historic gaffe on Monday night.
In fact, one of the first names that comes to mind is Teryl Austin when thinking about that showing.
Remember Austin? In 2018, he became the second Bengals coordinator ever fired midseason after a 51-14 loss to New Orleans. The team had coughed up 500-plus yards in three straight games.
Anarumo isn’t there yet, but allowing 38 points without a punt to a rookie passer is bad, bad. If Andy Dalton carves him up next as a member of the hapless Panthers, that storyline angle alone and a drop to 0-4 will demand the team takes action.
There are excuses. The team-building from Duke Tobin has failed Anarumo. A team can’t let an All-Pro like Jessie Bates walk, then whiff on his replacement. And a team shouldn’t let a presence like DJ Reader leave. It especially can’t let Reader leave, then make terrible mistakes half-trying to fill that void. As it stands, Anarumo’s working without Sheldon Rankins and B.J. Hill, plus, for the most part, without the rookies meant to back them up. First-round edge Myles Murphy is on IR, too.
But still, a repeat showing against the Panthers might just sink Anarumo to Austin territory.
Zac Taylor
Here’s an interesting question—how much leeway does Taylor get for the Super Bowl appearance?
How many years, exactly, did that buy Taylor from an organization that nearly kept Marvin Lewis around for two decades?
The answer is impossible to say. One would like to think that a supposedly modernized Bengals front office wouldn’t let Taylor come near the decade mark if the team isn’t at least making the playoffs in a stacked AFC.
Frankly, though, it also wouldn’t be a shock if nothing short of a ruined relationship with Joe Burrow himself won’t have Taylor walking out that door.
The dynamics in Cincinnati are complex. The scouting department is small, and it shows. The way the front office handicaps things like major extensions and bleeds talent said scouting then struggles to replace is a problem. Taylor’s struggling in part due to these reasons — and these reasons can mean a possible new name will struggle just as much, if not more.
One thing we can confidently say is that Taylor’s seat won’t actually warm from within the team until after the season. Even dropping to 0-4 won’t move the needle much, barring something catastrophic. It’s hard to imagine the front office has any desire to see Darrin Simmons or Lou Anarumo in his place for half a season to see how the locker room responds, let alone even begin to start thinking about such a major move until the offseason.
That said, again, falling 0-4 — at the hands of Dalton, the last franchise passer — could possibly end the Taylor era, sure, in spirit.
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