Zac Taylor: It's "strange" to be AFC North's longest-tenured coach

For nearly two decades, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh were head coaches in the AFC North.

Really, the division was one of the most stable in football, as there had not been a coaching change since the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski in 2020.

But that changed in a hurry in January, as the Browns fired Stefanski, the Ravens fired Harbaugh, and Tomlin resigned from the Steelers.

That leaves Cincinnati's Zac Taylor, hired in 2019, as the AFC North's longest-tenured coach.

"Well, it's strange,” Taylor said at the scouting combine this week when asked how it feels to be the most senior coach in the division. “You know, I've got a lot of respect for those three guys I've been competing against the last few years, and obviously great coaches and [they] have had a lot of success. So, it's a little strange, but I'm sure that I'll get used to it very quickly."

How has the landscape of the division changed now?

"Not for me to sit here and say today,” Taylor said. “Maybe those teams will evolve in different ways than they have over the last couple years. Kind of impossible for me to say but exciting for us. We've got continuity. We've got to capitalize on that and continue to build and move forward."

The Bengals do have continuity at some of the most important positions, with Taylor, quarterback Joe Burrow, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, and defensive coordinator Al Golden all returning for 2026. We’ll see if that continuity turns into on-field success after Cincinnati finished 6-11 in 2025.