Cardinals Head Coach Rumors: Rams QB Coach Zac Taylor an Interview Target

The Arizona Cardinals have requested to interview Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor for their head coaching vacancy and have "been doing work on him," according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. 

Taylor has become a hot name in coaching circles after playing a big role in third-year quarterback Jared Goff's continued improvement and the Rams offense. The team's head coach, Sean McVay, talked about his impact in Los Angeles in December, per Andy Benoit of The MMQB:    

"He's instrumental in our third-down game-planning. And he doesn't just agree with everything, he challenges you but in a way that's very welcoming. Sometimes in the NFL disagreements can be uncomfortable in a staff meeting, but not here. There's a refreshing security that Zac has in himself. He has great emotional intelligence and awareness for how to communicate in a way that makes peoples' guards go down. That's a great trait for a coach to have."

Rapoport also noted the Bengals were interested in interviewing Taylor. 

Taylor, 35, started his NFL coaching career in 2012 as the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins and remained with the team for four seasons.

He served as the quarterbacks coach for three more years as well as the interim offensive coordinator in 2015. He then joined the AAC's Cincinnati Bearcats as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2016 before the Rams hired him as an assistant wide receivers coach in 2017.

When Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson took over as the Oakland Raiders' offensive coordinator ahead of the 2018 season, Taylor was promoted to the position. 

An offensive-minded head coach with experience working directly with quarterbacks like Ryan Tannehill and Goff would make a lot of sense for the Cardinals as they develop Josh Rosen as their franchise quarterback.  

Rosen had his struggles in his rookie season, finishing with 2,278 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 14 games (13 starts) while completing just 55.2 percent of his passes. While rookie quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson and Sam Darnold showed flashes of excellence (alongside expected inconsistency), Rosen remains very much a work in progress.

Giving Rosen every chance to succeed should be Arizona's main goal moving forward, and a hiring like Taylor would be a logical choice. Taylor may not end up as Arizona's head coach, but the organization's reported interest in him is hardly surprising.