Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t reel in the Coach of the Year honors on Thursday night ahead of Super Bowl LVI.
Taylor made for an interesting frontrunner in the discussion for a number of reasons, but Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel felt like an inevitable first-place finisher when considering the number of injuries his club overcame in the regular season.
The final voting:
- Mike Vrabel: 36
- Matt LaFleur: 8
- Rich Bisaccia: 3
- Zac Taylor: 2
- Bill Belichick: 1
The fact Taylor only got two votes is where things get interesting.
Taylor orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds in modern football history, going for a 6-25-1 record over his first two seasons. He won 10 games this year, plus three playoff games while advancing to the Super Bowl, both firsts in more than 30 years for the franchise.
Making the feat all the more impressive was the fact he was taking over after 16 years of Marvin Lewis, inheriting a program very set in its ways. His quarterback, Joe Burrow, has done nothing but flourish despite a season-ending knee injury suffered during his rookie season.
For now, at least, voters say Taylor’s a distant fourth in this sort of race.
