Should Zac Taylor, Lou Anarumo or Other Bengals Coaches be on Hot Seat After 1-4 Start?

Is it time to make a change?

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and coach Zac Taylor walk off the field following a loss to the Washington Commanders on Sept. 23, 2024. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Should Zac Taylor be on the hot seat? What about Lou Anarumo?

It's a question plenty of Bengals fans have asked over the past three days after Cincinnati lost to Baltimore 41-38 on Sunday.

The answer is simple: No one at Paycor Stadium should feel comfortable following a 1-4 start to the season. The pressure should be at an all-time high. They have to win this week. They have to be more consistent and disciplined in key moments—especially late in games.

The pressure is high. No one in the building should feel comfortable following their worst start to a season in the Joe Burrow era.

That also doesn't mean Taylor, Anarumo or anyone else on the staff should've been or should be fired this week.

This is a coaching staff that has made the right adjustments with their backs against the wall before. This is a team that has responded well to adversity.

They have to do it again. And this time it's an even steeper mountain to climb.

This idea that firing Taylor for his game management at the end of Sunday's loss to Baltimore or parting ways with Anarumo at this stage of the season is going to help turn things around is a bit farfetched.

Everyone in the building should be feeling heat after a 1-4 start. It's unacceptable. That doesn't mean ownership should move on from key coaches five games into the year.

How this team and coaching staff responds will say a lot about who they are as players and coaches.

The hot seat discussion is a natural one to have at this stage of the season—especially considering the Bengals were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders.

No one is getting fired this week. But pressure? Of course there's pressure to win and turn the season around.

A possible turnaround has to start with a win over the Giants on Sunday.

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