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Let's make a deal:
I find most ‘fire the manager/coach’ talk boring. It’s low hanging fruit. It’s lazy and lacks nuance.
I just can’t do the ‘Zac should have been fired’ topic all offseason. I heard it all Reds season for David Bell. The monotony of the conversation is mind numbing.
Zac wasn’t going to be fired. Monday. Zac shouldn’t have been fired. There are a multitude of issues with this team. Firing Zac isn’t going to fix them.
For goodness sakes, he’s got a great relationship w/ the franchise QB. His offense scored more points than any Bengals team in history. His offense was 6th in points per game in the NFL. And, they’ve had four straight winning seasons…the 2nd longest streak in franchise history.
Now, Zac is far from perfect. Does his team need to play better at home? Yep. Better in the division? Certainly. Most importantly, do they need to find a way to start faster? Absolutely.
This season was not up to the standard of what Bengals football should be. But after going to the Super Bowl four years ago, he wasn’t going to be fired. After going back to the AFC title game three years ago he wasn’t going to be fired. After squeezing out a winning season when he lost his QB last season, he wasn’t going to be fired.
This season, they underachieved and somehow failed to make the playoffs, despite three spectacular individual seasons. But you don’t fire him for one bad season. Instead, you give him a chance to fix it. He deserves a chance to fix it. He started on that path Monday, by moving on from four coaches.
So, let's make a deal.
Let’s put the ‘fire Zac’ talk away for the offseason. There are certainly many other/better things to talk about. But…….let's all agree that Zac is officially on the clock and his seat is warming.
And we’ll revisit this next season.
If the Bengals again start slow from the gate, I think it would be justified, if not mandatory, that he be fired. The Bengals simply cannot miss the playoffs for a third consecutive year of the Joe Burrow era.
The organization would have to act swiftly in order to salvage the season. I will lead your march on Paycor Stadium with the demand.
I feel your frustration. From Week 1 on, with all the one score losses, this was the most frustrating Bengals season of my lifetime.
Now it’s the offseason. Zac’s going nowhere. For now.
Next season will make that subject to change. Not this offseason.
Deal? Or, no deal?