Zac Taylor
Getty
Bengals' head coach Zac Taylor revealed that he has no plans to change up his coaching staff after the team's Week 9 loss
The Cincinnati Bengals keep on finding ways to lose in excruciating fashion. After letting the New York Jets rally late against them in Week 8, the Bengals were the ones attempting to rally in Week 9 against the Chicago Bears. And while they briefly pulled off a wild comeback, their defense fell apart at the worst possible time, allowing the Bears to pick up a 47-42 victory.
While the offense is moving the ball well with Joe Flacco under center now, the defense simply cannot get stops, and it’s created quite a tough situation for head coach Zac Taylor. There’s been quite a bit of finger-pointing going on in the wake of this loss for the Bengals, which led to Taylor making a big announcement regarding his coaching staff.
Zac Taylor Not Making Changes to Bengals’ Coaching Staff
Entering the 2025 campaign, it was clear that the Bengals could have some problems on defense. With so much money invested in Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins on offense, it made it tough for the front office to truly improve their defense over the offseason. Case in point, Trey Hendrickson’s contract situation didn’t get sorted out until right before the start of the campaign.
While Burrow’s toe injury has complicated things on offense, Flacco’s arrival has helped settle things on that side of the ball. In his four starts, Cincy’s offense is averaging 32.8 points per game, which should be enough to win them games. And yet, they have gone only 1-3 during that stretch, because the defense is allowing 36 points per game.
All eyes are on first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden, who seems to have no answers right now. There’s no doubt that he hasn’t been dealt the best hand with the players at his disposal, but no defense should be allowing over 35 points per game like the Bengals have as of late. Taylor knows things need to change, but it doesn’t sound like that’s going to lead to him making any rash decisions with his coaching staff.
“No,” Taylor simply said when asked if he plans on making changes to his staff. “These are good football coaches. They’ve been successful everywhere they’ve been. We’re still in the first half of the season. We all know we got to play better as a football team. There’s been challenges our offense has faced over the course of the season. We worked through them. We’re playing better for it.
There’s challenges our defense is facing right now. I’m confident that we’re going to work through it. We’re going to play better football and find a way to win some games … I believe in these guys. Absolutely. We’ll continue to work through it and find solutions.”
Should Zac Taylor Fire Al Golden?
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – NOVEMBER 02: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Bears in the game at Paycor Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Golden helped turn the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s defense into one of the best units in all of college football during his three seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator, so Taylor hoped that he could come in and get their defense back on track. Instead, things have gone from bad to worse, leading to questions about Golden’s job security after just nine games.
There’s no question that the Bengals’ defense is not playing good football, but that doesn’t mean Taylor is going to fire Golden at the first hint of trouble. The team is going to be given time to work things out, even when considering just how bad their most recent loss looks. Cincinnati will have its bye week in Week 10, giving it time to figure things out for its Week 11 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.