Blueprint For Success: How the Bengals were built (and what the Dolphins can learn)
This is the last in a series that examines how Miami’s 2019 opponents built their rosters, and what lessons the Dolphins can glean as they build theirs.
Team: Cincinnati Bengals.
Coach: Zac Taylor (first season).
Director of player personnel: Duke Tobin.
Team owners: Mike Brown.
Franchise value: $2 billion.
2018 record: 6-10 (fourth in the AFC North).
2019 record: 1-13 (last in AFC North).
Last playoff appearance: 2015 (lost in the Wild Card round).
Last Super Bowl championship: Never.
Total 2019 payroll: $187.2 million (18th).
Total 2019 AAV: $184.2 million (20th).
Salary cap space: $13.3 million (18th).
Dead money: $12.6 million (26th most).
Percentage of homegrown players: 72.
Overview: Mike Brown and Duke Tobin gambled last offseason that the talent was in place to win, but the wrong coach was leading them. Turns out, they might have had it reversed. Because without Marvin Lewis, who was basically fired after 16 years as Bengals coach, this team has fallen apart. And the core — Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap — have regressed. We in Miami know the guy picked last winter to replace Lewis.
His name is Zac Taylor, and he was an agreeable fellow during his four years as a Dolphins assistant, including a half-season as interim offensive coordinator. But did he accomplish goal No. 1: Turn Ryan Tannehill into a franchise quarterback? One could argue that Tannehill has shown more improvement in one season in Tennessee than in seven in South Florida.
Dalton, meanwhile, is having his worst season as a pro. His completion percentage (59.7) is the lowest its been since his rookie year, and his touchdown-interception ratio (11-13) is underwater for the first time in his career. Dalton’s time with the Bengals was functionally up when Taylor benched him for Ryan Finley in late October.
But the Bengals are so inept, they had to go back to Dalton after embarrassing him because Finley was so bad. Meanwhile, the offensive line, which was supposed to be a strength of the team, has been a weakness. Cincinnati’s two big free-agent signings are guard John Miller (three years, $16.5 million) and right tackle Bobby Hart (three years, $16.2M).
And yet, the Bengals are 27th in rushing (91.4 ypg) and have allowed 43 sacks, tied for the seventh-most in football. If there is a silver lining to this thunderstorm, it’s this: the Bengals are just one loss away from the No. 1 pick and Joe Burrow. And they should have some $100 million in salary cap space to build around him next offseason. Will they? That hasn’t been the organization’s MO under Brown. But the bigger question: Is Zac Taylor the right coach to groom the Bengals’ next franchise quarterback?
The lesson: Yes, it’s easy to fire the coach than the entire team. But if you have an aging core that hasn’t won anything but regular-season games, perhaps it’s best to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch — like the Dolphins have.
He said it: “We’re heading in the right direction in terms of the culture. Not with the win and loss results, but I would argue the foundation we need to build is with the right people that are about the right things and care about what we’re trying to build here. That’s one small way you see that — guys still competing and not trying to find ways out. They’re trying to find ways to stay on the field. That part has been really encouraging to see from our team.” — Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
