Zac Taylor

NFL head coach Zac Taylor is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. When the Los Angeles Rams reached Super Bowl LIII, he was the quarterbacks’ coach for the team. In 2021, Taylor guided the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since 1988. In doing so, the Bengals reached their first playoff game for more than 30 years, which, up to that point, had been the longest losing streak in all major North American sports.

Few educational institutions sought out Taylor despite his record-breaking career at Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma. Even the Oklahoma Sooners, his alma mater, passed him over. He joined the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2002 and redshirted his first season before filling in as a backup the next year. During those two seasons, he only attempted one pass and completed it. He then went to Butler Community College in Kansas, where he had a standout season and helped Butler reach the NJCAA title game. He was also named to the second team of NJCAA All-Americans.

Taylor married Sarah Sherman, a former Green Bay Packers head coach and Sarah’s mother, in 2008. Together, they are parents to four kids. Press Taylor, the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, is one of Taylor’s three siblings. Sherwood Switzer, their father, played defensive back for Oklahoma from 1977 to 1979 under head coach Barry Switzer.