LOS ANGELES — Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor knows there’s no use in fighting the impression he owes much of his career to Sean McVay. So in the days leading up to Sunday’s high-stakes showdown against his boss in Super Bowl 56, he leaned into it.
“I think the joke is if you had a cup of coffee with Sean McVay, then you’re going to be a head coach in the NFL,” Taylor said earlier this week. “And there’s a ton of truth to that. Because if you spend time around the guy, he gives you a ton of confidence in yourself.”
Will confidence be enough in Super Bowl 56? That and Joe Burrow might be the Bengals’ only chance.
Zac Taylor-Sean McVay relationship is a fun subplot of Super Bowl 56
Taylor’s Bengals are 4-point underdogs against McVay’s Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. The Rams have by far the more complete team, and anything but a win would make their all-in approach a failure.
But McVay has the advantage of knowing what Sunday will be like as a head coach. He led the Rams to the Super Bowl just three years ago. Taylor was on that Rams’ staff as the team’s quarterbacks coach. The two young offensive minds joined forces in 2017, following Taylor’s one-year stint as the University of Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator.
“I think his relationship with his players is really special,” Taylor said of McVay in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. “It’s not just scheme-based. He really wants to get to know those guys and see their personalities shine through.”
Taylor learned not to micromanage his players during the two years spent in LA. While the Bill Belichick coaching tree stresses secrecy, the Rams and Bengals are two of the most accessible franchises in the league.
McVay coaching tree continues to grow
First off: It wouldn’t be altogether accurate to call it the McVay coaching tree. Rather, it’s the Mike Shanahan coaching tree. Four current NFL coaches — McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, and Matt LaFleur — were assistants on the Mike Shanahan-coached Washington team now known as the Commanders.
Three other former McVay assistants — Taylor, Kevin O’Connell, and Brandon Staley — also run their own teams. But only Taylor has the chance to beat his old boss in the biggest game of both of their lives.
“I have tremendous respect for Zac,” McVay said. “He’s a good friend. He was a big part of a lot of things that were good about the Rams, the two years that he was here in ’17 and ’18. I learned so much from him. He’s just got such a great way about himself where high capacity for the game. Amazing ability to be able to connect and communicate with the players. And you see that mental toughness that that team plays with.
“And so I’m really happy for Zac,” McVay added. “I’m not surprised. … I’m looking forward to always rooting for him, except for when we go against one another.”