Will Bengals Fire Zac Taylor, Al Golden, Duke Tobin? NFL Insider Weighs In

The Cincinnati Bengals have been mired in a 4-10 season and will miss the playoffs for the third straight year. But frustrated fans probably shouldn't expect major changes.

Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reported that general manager Duke Tobin is probably safe, writing that despite many fans clamoring for a change, "Internally, however, it's just not happening. Tobin is viewed as family in nearly the same regard as the actual Browns and Blackburns. There is zero thought that his job is in jeopardy. He will have to lead the Bengals out of this drought, and ownership trusts him to do so."

As for head coach Zac Taylor, firing him "still sounds very unlikely right now." And "while the most likely scenario is [first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden] stays, how the final judgment comes down on the necessary blame and alignment on the direction of the defense will be a significant talking point not only for the coordinator, but the head coach."

The one argument for maintaining the status quo, at least from an ownership perspective, likely would be that Joe Burrow's nine-game absence due to turf toe was what truly tanked the season.

The Bengals were 2-0 to start the 2025 campaign, and without him, went just 1-8. That all but extinguished any playoff hopes, and the team's 1-2 mark since his return finished the job.

But even with a healthy Burrow, the defense would have been a huge issue. That unit ranks dead last in both yards (403.8 YPG) and points allowed (31.2 PPG) this season and is tied for 27th in sacks (25), though they've forced a respectable 17 takeaways (tied 11th).

Now, where the blame truly resides defensively is certainly up for debate. Was it simply a lack of talented personnel, which would fall on Tobin, or did Golden fail to get the most out of what he was given in his first year on the job? Or was it simply both?

Taylor recently defended the unit despite the Bengals giving up 39 points to the Buffalo Bills and 24 points to the Baltimore Ravens in back-to-back losses (although Burrow pick-sixes in both games didn't help).

"Nobody wants to hear it, but I do think there's things on defense that have really improved, particularly since the bye," he told reporters. "And there are some things that they're improving on that we're going to continue to build off of that. So I think that's tangible, that's showing up. Anybody who's watching the game can see that that's improvement being made and there's a lot of young players that are participating in that, second-, third-year players that are showing growth through the season."

Whatever growth that unit showed, however, wasn't enough to salvage Cincy's seasons. For many organizations, changes would be on the horizon, but for better and very often worse, the Bengals march to the beat of their own drum.