To get to Zac Taylor's first Hobson's Choice Podcast as Bengals head coach, you first have go through his re-designed anteroom. That's where the painting of Paul Brown coaching on the Bengals sideline hangs. Taylor tells you why as well as:
- He confirms he didn't minor in architecture at Nebraska, but he explains why he's blown up the Paul Brown Stadium mezzanine level for the largest coaching staff in Bengals history.
"That's why you come to a place like the Bengals. They give you what you need," Taylor says.
- He welcomes re-signing right tackle Bobby Hart ("Bobby has a lot of the tools that we feel like will help us in our run game and play-action") and middle linebacker Preston Brown ("He sees things before they happen … He'll help build the right culture over there on defense.")
- As he runs down his defensive staff, he agrees it's an intriguing brew of backgrounds, particularly the experience of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner.
"To the outside world it was we were taking too long (to hire the defensive staff), but for us it was finding the right people, make sure they fit, buy into the culture we're building here," Taylor says. "They fit exactly the mold of the type of coach we wanted. It was a very thorough interview process for all of them."
- He heads to his first NFL annual meeting this weekend in Phoenix, which appears to be morphing into the Replay Reunion, where teams submitted seven Instant Replay proposals. Maybe it's no surprise that being on the other end of the NFC title game incident in New Orleans, Taylor, the former Rams quarterbacks coach, says, "I'm comfortable with the way (replay) is being used."
