Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals will square off in Week 5 of the 2025 season, the Lions’ third straight matchup against an AFC North opponent. These two teams have met only 13 times in their history, with just one meeting during the Dan Campbell era—a Bengals win, which occurred back in 2021.
While the teams don’t have a lengthy history, these two head coaches are very familiar with each other. Campbell and Bengals’ coach Zac Taylor coached alongside each other from 2012 to 2015 with the Miami Dolphins. And when Campbell was named interim head coach in their final season, Taylor was his offensive coordinator.
“I’ve known Zac (Taylor) a long time, coached with Zac,” Campbell said on Wednesday. “What he’s done out there has been pretty amazing, and they’ve built something pretty special over there.”
Let’s take a closer look at the Bengals’ coaching staff, the scheme that they run, and some scouting notes from previously viewed games.
NFL coaching seasons: 13 seasons
Head coaching seasons: 7th season (all with Bengals)
Influences: Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike Sherman, Joe Philbin, Bill Lazor
Playcaller: Yes
Fun Fact: Taylor was Jared Goff’s offensive coordinator in L.A. in 2018, the year they went to the Super Bowl
While Campbell and Goff are praising Taylor this week, the Cincinnati fan base has a much different perspective, with many calling for his job. Here’s an excerpt from a recent article at our brother site at SB Nation, Cincy Jungle:
Here’s the thing about Zac Taylor, and this may be stating the obvious: He’s a great leader and culture builder. The Bengals locker room has been lauded for its positivity, leadership, and strong culture for the last seven seasons. That stuff is hard to come by in the NFL, and Taylor’s relentless positivity through the Bengals’ struggles in his first two seasons as head coach is a big reason why the Bengals got to Super Bowl LVI in just Taylor’s third season.
The downside is that Taylor is severely limited as an offensive-minded coach and schemer. Most notably, he hasn’t evolved as much as other head coaches, including his former boss, Sean McVay. He’s undergone some evolution, but not nearly enough, like McVay and other great head coaches in the NFL.
NFL coaching seasons: 10 (all with Bengals)
Offensive coordinator seasons: 2nd (took over in 2024 after Brian Callahan, Titans HC)
Influences: Zac Taylor, Brian Callahan, Ken Zampese, Bill Lazor
Passing game: Modern-Spread, West Coast McVay/Shanahan style blend
Running scheme: Outside-zone, run inside OTs nearly 60% of the time (2nd most in NFL)
Staples of scheme:
