It seems that Sean McVay has rubbed off on his coaching staff after all. Ask the Cincinnati Bengals about Zac Taylor, a member of McVay's coaching tree.
The Bengals hired Taylor to be their new head coach this offseason. He recently met with the team for the first time.
In an article by Jay Morrison for The Athletic, a couple of the players on the Bengals raved about the newly hired coach.
Those same players said it feels like they've “known him for years.” This is a response to how Taylor connected to the team in his first talk with his full roster of players.
Alex Erickson and Tyler Boyd, who have both endured a lot of coaching changes in their young football careers, spoke about how they felt after listening to Zac Taylor for the first time in a group setting.
When he started talking, you felt like you’ve known him for years,” Erickson said.
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who challenged Erickson’s claim to enduring coaching casualties, felt the same vibe.
“I’ve been through probably the most coaching changes of any guy here,” he said. “In college, I went through two head coaches and three different receiver coaches. But building relationships is something I think I’m good at, just starting to develop a rapport and spend time with people, get to learn them, get to know them, get to understand what they’ve got to bring to the table. It didn’t take but a day with coach Taylor.
“At first it felt like I was a rookie again, seeing all these new coaches’ faces,” Boyd continued. “But once (Taylor) started talking and explaining things, everything felt comfortable really quick.”
Zac Taylor coached with the Los Angeles Rams under McVay as his quarterback coach. His work with Jared Goff landed Taylor a head coaching gig at 35 years old.
It's always tough as a new head coach to get respect from the locker room. It's good news for Bengals fans with Zac Taylor getting rave reviews from his players after his first meeting with the team.