The Cincinnati Bengals are one of two NFL teams still lacking head coaches (the Miami Dolphins being the other), and there is a very good reason for that -- according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the Bengals are waiting out Zac Taylor.
Related: who is Zac Taylor?
The 35-year-old former Nebraska quarterback jumped into coaching in 2008 as a Texas A&M graduate assistant and has but one season of NFL offensive coordinator experience, but pointing out the experience he lacks obscures the larger point: Taylor has the most coveted credential in professional football right now -- personal knowledge of Sean McVay's system.
Taylor spent 2017 as the Los Angeles' Rams assistant wide receivers coach, then was promoted to quarterbacks coach ahead of this season, where he has helped Jared Goff put together an MVP candidate season while the Rams secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
It's more than that, though. Taylor is a bright, well-liked coach who by all accounts knocked out his interview.
Still, his impending hiring also shows just where the NFL is at right now. The scheme war has been won, and those who've shown they can air it out are the bell of the ball right now. Kliff Kingsbury is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals six weeks after he was fired by Texas Tech, and Taylor is set to become the Bengals' head coach two years after he was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator.
As in, the Cincinnati Bearcats of the American Athletic Conference.
Now he's reportedly set to return as the head coach of the city's NFL team.
NFL rules forbid Cincinnati from making a hire until the Rams' playoff run is over, which could be as soon as Saturday night and as late as Feb. 3.
That uncertainty could provide plenty of time for this to not happen, but as of now it looks like it is.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.