Zac Taylor on Bengals Firing Coaches, Including Lou Anarumo and Frank Pollack
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00:00We had higher expectations and standards for what we achieved this year.
00:03And that'll certainly drive us moving forward to meet those expectations and
00:07those standards that we have for ourself.
00:09And as many of you probably saw, we made a couple coaching changes today.
00:13Do not take that lightly.
00:15Those were extremely hard moves for me to make.
00:17Those are all men that I have a ton of respect for.
00:20Been through really high, exciting times with.
00:23And do not take those decisions lightly.
00:25And appreciate all that those guys brought to the table,
00:28because they're like brothers to me.
00:30They worked hard every single day.
00:32And those were not easy decisions to make.
00:33And we'll work to make those hires as soon as possible when that time is
00:37appropriate.
00:39Coach, when did you at least start to consider making changes to the staff?
00:44When the season ended.
00:45Okay, thank you.
00:47Zach, and this was just your decision?
00:49Yes.
00:51Why did you feel change was needed?
00:54Just as I evaluate everything within the organization.
00:57I just felt like we needed to make a change there.
01:00And it's as simple as that.
01:01And we'll start that process immediately of evaluating where we need to go.
01:05And who we wanna bring in to help take us to the next level.
01:10But again, I can't tell you how much I appreciate what those guys did.
01:12And they worked hard every single day.
01:13And they're great football coaches.
01:14And they'll land on their feet very quickly.
01:16Zach, does that mean you also wanna change in philosophy at those positions?
01:23We're gonna evaluate the candidates that are available to us.
01:25And we'll find the best fit.
01:27Zach, specific to Lou, can you talk through what you feel like's been
01:31kind of the reason over the last two years you guys have slipped off defensively?
01:37And when you make a change like this at the top, and
01:40then with two other position coaches,
01:43is it more that you're looking for a different identity on defense?
01:46Just can you elaborate a little bit more on the defense?
01:48We just felt like we needed a change.
01:51And again, did not take that decision lightly.
01:53Thought long and hard about it.
01:56Lou's been doing this for six years here.
01:58And the success we've had,
01:59he's been a big reason why we've had a lot of this success.
02:02And so again, I don't take this lightly.
02:05Put a lot of thought into it.
02:07It's not an easy day for any of us.
02:09And just felt like we need to perform better as a football team.
02:12And so again, it's not in any specific one area.
02:15I think we gotta be better in all three phases of our team.
02:18And these are the decisions I made today, and we'll work to be better.
02:22How challenging was this year,
02:24especially with Jamar playing the way he was, Joe, and obviously, Trey?
02:29I mean, you have stars that have done things that no other NFL team has done.
02:33And yet, we're talking here at the end of the season.
02:36Yeah, I think you look at every game, and there's a play to be made in every single
02:41phase that we all regret, whether it's a play call, a play, whatever it is.
02:48There's all things that we'll reflect back on and that are kind of a little bit
02:53of a thorn in your side for this season.
02:55But all we can do is improve it moving forward and
02:57making sure that a season like this doesn't happen again.
03:00Defensively, how concerning is it or
03:05how big of a factor is it that you've had the Miles Murphys, the Dax Hills?
03:10You've invested a lot of draft capital in high end draft picks and
03:15just the development of those guys.
03:17How big of a factor is that in this decision?
03:19That's something we'll evaluate the entirety of the offseason,
03:22making sure we're better in all areas.
03:25And so again, we'll look to bring in people that we feel like can get the most out of
03:28everybody.
03:29Go see a lot of joys in this job and a lot of uncomfortable situations in this job.
03:35Talk about just the difficulty of this one because of the relationship you have with
03:39those coaches.
03:40Really hard.
03:41I've been through a lot with all these guys.
03:44And they worked their tails off.
03:47They're part of really great moments for us.
03:50This is the hard side of the profession.
03:52And I just appreciate what those guys brought to the table and
03:55how they represented this organization.
03:57How they represented me as a head coach, how they treated their players.
04:01I appreciate all that.
04:03Back specific to Frank, you've talked about how you felt like
04:08the offensive line has played well this year a number of times.
04:12Given how much you guys wanna throw the ball,
04:14what are some of the prerequisites you're gonna be looking for
04:17when you start your search for an offensive line coach?
04:21Yeah, we'll form a list and go through it in depth of who we think fits us best.
04:25And we'll record how to find the best guy to get the most out of what we're doing.
04:30Coach, will you be looking for a run game coordinator as well
04:36in the offensive line position or will that be, might that be possible or?
04:41We'll just find the best fit for how it fits with our staff.
04:44Zach, you said that these decisions were yours to make.
04:47Do you, what's that process like?
04:50Do you go to ownership in the front office and
04:52say you think it's time for a change or how's that conversation?
04:55Absolutely, we talk, as you all know,
04:57we talk on a weekly basis sometimes more than that.
05:01And again, I know the expectation was to hear what I wanted to do after the season
05:07and these are changes I thought we needed to make.
05:10Coach, how much does the current roster make up and-
05:13Go ahead, Marshall.
05:14Can you start over?
05:15Yep, no problem.
05:17How much does the current roster make up and
05:20contracts coming up on both sides of the ball went into the decision with the staff?
05:25I was just trying to do what's best for the team.
05:27And so again, it's you balance the personality, you balance the coaching.
05:32Everything goes into these decisions and there's not one thing that drives a decision.
05:36Zach, when you look at the offensive line specifically and
05:38kind of the decision to move off the front, what was lacking maybe and
05:42what you needed from the offensive line given the way that you guys like to play
05:45the ball and the philosophy that you have and how the game should be played?
05:47I just felt like it was time for a change, you know?
05:49And so again, we're going to work hard to find the best candidate for that spot.
05:53Zach, what would be your message to the fan base that have questions about your
05:58plan for the offseason to ensure a season like this doesn't happen again?
06:03Disappointed, you know, we're all disappointed with the overall totality of
06:07the season and the position that we put ourselves in.
06:10And I know that it's unacceptable to start the way that we started.
06:13We have a lot of talent on this team.
06:15We got great coaches.
06:16And so again, I'm not just going to say what I want to say and
06:21that we're going to be better to start the season.
06:22We're going to work like hell to make sure that we start the season on the right way
06:25to put ourselves in a great position to finish like we did, you know,
06:29because there's a lot of the positives there with the way we finished.
06:32And it's sickening that we're not in the playoffs with an opportunity to keep
06:37this thing going because we finally found a lot of momentum.
06:40And so it's just on us as a whole to finish games off earlier in the season.
06:45And it's on me as the head coach to make sure we come out of the offseason,
06:49we come out of training camp and we're ready to hit the ground running from game one.
06:53You could do it over again.
06:54It's been a lot of...
06:56If you could do it over again, Zach, what do you have played Joe more in the preseason
07:00leading up to week one this year?
07:02I think those will always be decisions we make from year to year, you know,
07:05and again, he was coming off the wrist this summer.
07:07And so we always had a plan for him.
07:10But that's something I don't think because we did one year,
07:13that's how it's going to be done the next year.
07:15Those are certainly conversations we'll continue to have.
07:19Zach, there's obviously reasons for the slow start.
07:21Go ahead, Paul, then I'll come to you, Richard.
07:23Yeah, yeah.
07:24Zach, do you feel like you need to consider changes to the offseason program?
07:28Is that something that you guys have considered to being something that can be
07:31a little different or training camp?
07:33Or is there some way where that can be connected to the early season struggles?
07:37Those are certainly things that I have to evaluate, you know,
07:41and that's something I really do more so over the next two months
07:45and not necessarily today as the season ends.
07:47Today is about reflecting on changes we've got to make immediately.
07:51But then you spend time over the next two months as we're going on to personnel,
07:55really evaluating, OK, what do I do over the course of April, May, June
08:00and into training camp?
08:01And so there will be a lot of time to evaluate all that.
08:04Go ahead, Richard.
08:05I'll ask the question, sir.
08:06You're good.
08:07Thanks, Zach.
08:07OK.
08:08What level of urgency are you hoping that you and the front office and ownership
08:13attack the offseason with in hopes to get back to being contending
08:18for a Super Bowl next year?
08:19What level of urgency?
08:23Urgent.
08:26Coach, if the Chiefs were to have won yesterday or one different thing,
08:30were to have gone differently and you guys were to be in the playoffs,
08:33how different would these decisions have been?
08:37You know, I just, as soon as the season ended officially,
08:40that's when I needed to solidify what I wanted to do.
08:43So it's hard to talk about a hypothetical where we're at right now
08:47until those decisions were made.
08:49Zach, what's it like with Joe in terms of how he felt like the season went?
08:54I mean, what's that debrief like when y'all kind of wrap up the season
08:57and he's kind of feeling...
08:58I haven't talked to Joe yet.
09:00As you guys know, there's weather issues.
09:02That's why we're on Zoom right now.
09:03So there's a couple of players that were able to make it in that I've talked to.
09:07It's not a rushed process.
09:09It's not something that needs to be done this morning.
09:10It can be done over the course of this week.
09:13Joe's usually around the entire offseason, so I will absolutely talk to Joe.
09:16But just because of weather, we didn't get an opportunity to do that.
09:19I called him this morning just briefly to update on a couple of things.
09:22But he and I will go through the season in depth at a later date.
09:25And kind of to follow up on that, you know, when you look at how much
09:28he's kind of been vocal about how, you know, his role
09:30in what the franchise might look like and how he wants it to be built.
09:33How do you kind of take that into consideration?
09:35How does that get folded into the decision-making process?
09:37I know that's always been, you know, valued as he's been here,
09:41but as he becomes more vocal, maybe how does that play into
09:44the process on how this thing shapes moving forward?
09:47He and I have always been very open with one another,
09:49you know, in private, in our conversations.
09:53He's well aware that our front office is aware that ownership, Duke,
09:57everybody's always been able to.
09:59And so that'll be part of the process as we go through this offseason program.
10:02Zach, there's always accountability with the coaches.
10:05That's what kind of today is about.
10:07What about accountability with the players who will remain,
10:10who will be with the club next year?
10:12What is your message to them as they head to the offseason?
10:16Well, you talk with as many as you can.
10:19The expectations for what's to come next.
10:24What we need to do a better job of, things that we did well, you know.
10:27So again, it's a very comprehensive conversation
10:29as you go through a lot of these guys, and those will continue.
10:32You know, they're not all done and they'll continue throughout the week.
10:34How do you feel, follow up, how do you feel about the leadership
10:38in the locker room, both when you guys started four and eight
10:42and when you guys won five in a row?
10:45I think it's a big, I think it speaks
10:48wholeheartedly to how we finished with five wins in a row, you know,
10:51and to go on the road and win a divisional game in the final game
10:53and keep our hopes alive.
10:55I think it speaks a lot to the leadership.
10:56I think it speaks a lot to the growth of a lot of the young players
10:59that we had over the course of the season that allowed us to do that.
11:02I think it speaks to the coaching staff
11:04and in the messaging to the players as the season progresses
11:08and to keep those guys in it and to be able to get the most out of them.
11:11So there are positives to draw from, but
11:15I don't want that to lead anyone to believe that
11:18we think it was good enough this year on what we just did.
11:21Zach, how important is it for this offense?
11:24And you guys were so productive on offense this year,
11:27but to almost level up the run game we saw at the end of the season,
11:32but just be more consistent or be able to rely on it.
11:34How big of a factor is that?
11:35I think the way that some of these games play out,
11:39it doesn't always allow you to do the things that you want to do.
11:42You know, you're I would say, you know, from about the halfway point
11:45of the season, every game was was do or die for us
11:48where we felt like we needed to win.
11:49And so you lean towards putting the ball in Joe's hands
11:52when you're in those situations.
11:53And there's certainly a play style, I think, that's
11:56puts the linemen in a better position, puts Joe in a better position
11:59than to just draw back and throw it every single play like we tended to do.
12:03And so what we've got to do a better job of controlling games
12:06from the jump, getting up 13 to three, getting up 17 to three.
12:10And that allows you to expand your run game and lean on the run game.
12:13And so that's again, that's going to take a lot of work
12:16and it's going to take everybody involved.
12:18But we need to do a better job of controlling games
12:22in the first half that allows us to dictate
12:24what the tempo of the game is going to be.
12:26From a scheme standpoint, from the passing game and the run game,
12:30do you think there was a good marriage there?
12:32Is that something you're hoping to to strengthen with this move?
12:36I think that we're always willing to evolve everything,
12:39the level of our passing game, the level of our run game.
12:44I'm proud of the way that we put the ball in the end zone.
12:46And so oftentimes I don't care what it looks like.
12:48I don't care how we get there as long as we get in.
12:50But with that being said, I think we'll continue to improve in both areas.
12:55Coach, when you look at the character of this team,
12:59one thing that won't be questioned is that character coming down
13:02the stretch with their backs against the wall.
13:05What gave you the most joy about how they responded to the adversity
13:09and the manner that they did?
13:10You just know what they're about.
13:12You see them every single day.
13:13I see them on the practice field.
13:14I think that's the biggest thing for me.
13:16Was just the tone of how we practice.
13:18Those guys were willing to do whatever it took,
13:21whether we were going to go full speed, whether we're going to jog through.
13:25I never heard the complaints.
13:27Hey, we're going to be outside in 20 degree weather today.
13:30Guys embrace that.
13:31And so when you see that attitude amongst the guys as you're hitting December
13:35and your record is not what you expected it to be,
13:39that tells me a lot about about the character that we had in the locker room.
13:43How much will you lobby the front office to get get T resign
13:46and get Jamar extended sooner rather than later?
13:48So that doesn't maybe become a distraction?
13:50I think lobby is not the right word.
13:52We are lockstep in how we communicate every week of the season,
13:56every week of the offseason.
13:57And so those are conversations we'll have.
14:00We got a lot of great players and T's one of them, certainly.
14:03And I'm very hopeful that that'll work out to where we are able to get him back.
14:07But there's certainly a process
14:08we're going to have to undergo with with a lot of players on our team.
14:10And I can promise you
14:13we'll be we'll be in unison with whatever those decisions are.
14:16And that's a process.
14:17We'll start now, you know, through the month of January and February
14:20and talking through every player on our roster and how it all fits.
14:23Well, you've had some success with this defense, you've drafted for it.
14:28Do you want to keep remnants of it, some of it, or does the new
14:33coordinator going to come in and rip it up?
14:35Or how do you do you envision a marriage of what you've gone up new and older?
14:39Yeah, that's the process you go through now, you know, and it's not.
14:43I know everybody wants answers on exactly what it's going to look like.
14:45And I can't provide that today.
14:47I certainly have a vision for what I want it to look like.
14:49And we'll go through the process of finding the right candidates
14:52and evaluating them and then finding the right fit.
14:54And then from there, how do these players fit with what we're doing?
14:58And that'll be in conjunction with Duke and his staff.
15:00And so, again, there's a long process you'll go through.
15:04And just fresh off the season, we'll just we'll close this chapter
15:07and be ready to move on to the next one.
15:09Zach, how appealing do you think that these jobs are,
15:12specifically the defensive coordinator job and the offensive line coach job
15:16to the rest of the NFL?
15:18I think it's got to be as appealing as it could possibly be.
15:20You know, we've got some of the best players in the world
15:24and it's a great organization to work for.
15:26It's a tremendous city to work in.
15:29It's the best fan base in all the world.
15:30And so I keep listening to positives, but those are some of the main ones.
15:35What do you say?
15:36How do you feel like your own performance was this year?
15:40How did you assess the job that you did?
15:42And are there things you came out of this with with notes on improvement
15:46and how you want to maybe change some things going forward
15:49specifically just to yourself?
15:51Yeah, I'll certainly look back over those games that we lost
15:53and in some of the moments where I need to do a better job
15:56of taking control of the game, you know, and making sure our team
16:00took control of the game.
16:01And in those those late moments where you lost games
16:05that you were a player two away, what are the things I got to do better?
16:08And and so, again, those aren't things that you can run from
16:12when you're in my shoes, the things you got to address head on.
16:14And I've never had an issue doing that.
16:16And so those are things I got to look at.
16:18Zach, as you go through the search, coming up with a defense coordinator
16:21job, being an offensive minded head coach, how important
16:25when in this search is having someone who has NFL defensive coordinator
16:28experience in your search, as opposed to giving someone their first shot?
16:31Yeah, I'm not going to I'm not going to write anybody off
16:34because their experience is level.
16:35I think that you got to evaluate everybody that's out there.
16:38Certainly, we have a team that I think is ready to win and do great things.
16:43And so experience is a good thing.
16:46But but I'm not going to say that that rules anybody out.
16:48Zach, you have two key position coaches in Chuck Berks and Jordan Kovacs.
16:53Are they two coaches that you plan to keep on staff,
16:56or is that going to be up to the defensive coordinator?
16:59Well, we'll go through that process, you know, as we get a new coordinator.
17:03Zach, what do you look at?
17:04How are you with the young players?
17:07Who's talking over Mike and then I'll hit Mike next.
17:12Somebody was saying, how are you looking at players?
17:13Yeah, Carly. Yeah.
17:16Sorry, Zach. How do you look at young players, Zach, who come in?
17:20You have Joe, you have Jamar.
17:21There's an expectation, I'm sure, when you get a call from the Bengals on draft
17:24night that, OK, we're going to be able to contend.
17:26We're going to be able to win right away.
17:29Will you look at anything with onboarding young guys
17:32and knowing now the lessons of this season, especially for those young guys?
17:38Yeah, I think integrating the guys into our culture and understanding
17:41the character of our team as quickly as possible.
17:45Will certainly be something that we emphasize over the course of the offseason.
17:48And I'm always looking at ways to improve that.
17:51I think I think that that's something that we can improve this year
17:55is making sure those first year players hit the ground running.
17:58And understand who the guys are that are key points in our locker room,
18:03what they've achieved, what it takes to achieve what they've achieved.
18:06And so as much as they can hear from those guys, I'll make sure that they do it.
18:10Go ahead, Mike.
18:12Zach, on the injury front,
18:14are you aware of any players who might need procedures
18:18going into the offseason at this point?
18:21Do you have any update on players offensively, defensively?
18:24Yeah, no, no update.
18:25I think those are things that we're working through today.
18:27And again, weather permitting, that shifted some guys tomorrow as well.
18:31Zach, when you talk about guys who might potentially be in that coordinator spot,
18:35what are some traits that you've valued over the years
18:38and coordinators that you've liked, guys that you've coached with,
18:41traits that you feel like make for a good defensive coordinator,
18:43especially for the style of ball that you like to play?
18:46They get the most out of the players, certainly.
18:48And I think you got to understand our division that we play in.
18:51You're going to play six a year.
18:52That's going to dictate really where you end up at the end of the season.
18:55And so I think that this division is different.
19:00I think when people come and they play all four teams in this division,
19:02they feel that immediately.
19:04And so you certainly need a coordinator that has an understanding of that,
19:09which there's plenty of guys in the league that have been around the block
19:12that have done that.
19:12And we'll go through the process to find the right one.
19:16Zach, what will that process be like?
19:19I'm sure you already have a list or you're putting together a list.
19:21Will you hope to contact some candidates this week?
19:24Do you talk with ownership about it?
19:26What will that be like?
19:27Talk with ownership about it.
19:28You know, that's the starting point.
19:29And then we'll start to reach out how it's appropriate
19:32and what the guidelines tell us to do.
19:35Zach, is the expectation, I know you talked about T earlier,
19:38but is the expectation for the organization that you guys will be able
19:41to get a long term deal done for Jamar Chase this offseason?
19:44That's certainly our hope.
19:45Dan is asking, potentially beefing up on the inside of the defensive line.
19:50Is that can be a priority here?
19:53I think those are the things, you know, we'll start addressing immediately.
19:56And again, this is we'll just get through this this day today.
20:00Then we move into the personnel aspect of things and what it looks like.
20:04And again, a lot of that is let's let's hire a football coach over there.
20:08And so that way we can do it the right way where we're evaluating
20:12the personnel with Duke and his staff and find the right fits
20:15for how we want to move forward.
20:17What did you take away from your initial talk following the season
20:20with Mike Brown, Zach?
20:25The understanding that we need to be better,
20:27you know, in his own way, you know, of doing it.
20:29And again, this isn't something
20:32that there's not this end of the season, big, big wrap up.
20:35It's this is a weekly conversation that he and I have.
20:37And so that's the best way to do it, because there's no,
20:42you know, every two months you're getting together and talking.
20:45It's a daily basis thing.
20:46And so that allows you to have the best communication possible,
20:51make sound decisions where everybody has all the information.
20:54And so he's understanding of the moves I felt like we needed to make.
20:58And I certainly understand where we need to be moving forward.
21:02Zach, as the head coach, when you make when you make moves like you made,
21:07do you think it comes with more pressure moving forward?
21:11I mean, when I tell you, I feel I feel an urgency to win every single day.
21:16I'm not. And so pressure is not the word.
21:19You can't do this job if you're going to succumb to pressure.
21:22And I just make the decisions I feel like I need to make,
21:26not because of of any pressure.
21:28I feel these are decisions I feel like I got to make because I'm
21:32the head coach of this football team and expectations that we have.
21:34And so there's always a level of urgency
21:38to improve everything I'm doing and everything this team is doing.
21:42Pressure is not the word I would use.
21:44Go ahead. Yeah.
21:45You obviously you have the urgency.
21:47Your coaching staff has the urgency, Zach.
21:50But in talking with Mike and Katie and Troy, are you confident
21:54that there is an urgency from ownership as well?
21:57I think we are all on the same page that we want to win.