List of Cincinnati Bengals head coaches

The Bengals have played in Paul Brown Stadium since 2000.

This is a complete list of Cincinnati Bengals head coaches. There have been ten head coaches for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). A professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Bengals are a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC). The Bengals franchise was founded in 1968 as a member of the Western Division of the American Football League (AFL),[1] before merging with the NFL in 1970.[1]

The current head coach is Zac Taylor, who was hired after the 2018 season. Taylor replaced Marvin Lewis, who remains the Bengals all-time leader in seasons coached, games coached, wins, and playoff games coached. Three coaches have won a conference championship with the team: Forrest Gregg in 1981, Sam Wyche in 1988 and Taylor in 2021.[2] Gregg leads all coaches in winning percentage with .561.[3] Dick LeBeau had the lowest winning percentage, with .267.[4] Of the nine Bengals head coaches, three have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Paul Brown, Forrest Gregg, and Dick LeBeau (although only Brown was inducted as a coach, the other two were inducted as players).[5] Two former players have been head coach for the Bengals: Sam Wyche and Bruce Coslet.

## Key[edit]

# | Number of coaches[N 1]

|

Yrs | Years coached
First | First season coached
Last | Last season coached
GC | Games Coached
W | Wins
L | Loses
T | Ties
Win% | Win – Loss percentage
00†  | Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
00‡  | Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
00*  | Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Bengals

## Coaches[edit]

Note: Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2023 NFL season.
#  | Image  | Name  | Term[N 2] | Regular season  | Playoffs  | Accomplishments  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Yrs  | First  | Last  | GC  | W  | L  | T  | Win%  | GC  | W  | L
1  |  | Paul Brown† | 8  | 1968 | 1975 | 112  | 55  | 56  | 1  | .495  | 3  | 0  | 3  | Inducted Pro Football Hall of Fame (1967)
2 AFC Central Championships (1970, 1973)
3 Playoff Berths
2 UPI NFL Coach of the Year Awards (1969, 1970)  | [6]
2  |  | Bill Johnson*  | 3  | 1976 | 1978[N 3] | 33  | 18  | 15  | 0  | .545  | —  |  | [7]
3  |  | Homer Rice | 3  | 1978[N 3] | 1979 | 27  | 8  | 19  | 0  | .296  | —  |  | [8]
4  |  | Forrest Gregg‡ | 4  | 1980 | 1983 | 57  | 32  | 25  | 0  | .561  | 4  | 2  | 2  | 1 AFC Championship (1981)
1 AFC Central Championship (1981)
2 Playoff Berths
1 UPI NFL Coach of the Year Award (1981)  | [9]
5  |  | Sam Wyche | 8  | 1984 | 1991 | 121  | 61  | 66  | 0  | .480  | 5  | 3  | 2  | 1 AFC Championship (1988)
2 AFC Central Championships (1988, 1990)
2 Playoff Berths | [10]
6  |  | Dave Shula*  | 5  | 1992 | 1996[N 4] | 71  | 19  | 52  | 0  | .268  | —  |  | [11]
7  |  | Bruce Coslet | 5  | 1996[N 4] | 2000[N 5] | 60  | 21  | 39  | 0  | .350  | —  |  | [12]
8  |  | Dick LeBeau‡ | 3  | 2000[N 5] | 2002 | 45  | 12  | 33  | 0  | .267  | —  |  | [13]
9  |  | Marvin Lewis*  | 16  | 2003 | 2018 | 256  | 131  | 122  | 3  | .518  | 7  | 0  | 7  | 4 AFC North Championships (2005, 2009, 2013, 2015)
7 Playoff Berths
1 AP NFL Coach of the Year Award (2009)  | [14]
10  |  | Zac Taylor*  | 5  | 2019–present  | 82  | 37  | 44  | 1  | .457  | 7  | 5  | 2  | 1 AFC Championship (2021)
2 AFC North Championships (2021, 2022)
2 Playoff Berths | [15]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ A running total of the number of coaches of the Bengals. Thus, any coach who has two or more terms as head coach is only counted once.
2. ^ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season.
3. ^ a b Homer Rice replaced Bill Johnson as head coach after the Bengals started 0–5. The team dipped to marks of 0–8 and 1–12 before rebounding under Rice to win the last three games.
4. ^ a b The Dave Shula era comes to a sudden end when he is fired after a 1–6 start. Bruce Coslet, the team's offensive coordinator, would replace Shula as head coach.
5. ^ a b After being shut out in two of their first three games, coach Bruce Coslet resigned; he was replaced by defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

## References[edit]

General

* "CIN Coaching Records and History". Database Football. Database Sports. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
* "NFL Coach of the Year Award". HickokSports.com. February 15, 2011. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2011.

Specific

1. ^ a b "History – Cincinnati Bengals". Cincinnati Bengals. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
2. ^ "Cincinnati Bengals Championship History". NFL Team History.com. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
3. ^ "Forrest Gregg Records, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
4. ^ "Dick LeBeau Records, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
5. ^ "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
6. ^ "Paul Brown Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
7. ^ "Bill Johnson Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
8. ^ "Homer Rice Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
9. ^ "Forrest Gregg Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
10. ^ "Sam Wyche Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
11. ^ "Dave Shula Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
12. ^ "Bruce Coslet Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
13. ^ "Dick LeBeau Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
14. ^ "Marvin Lewis Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference.
15. ^ "Zac Taylor Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 8, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Cincinnati Bengals

* Founded in 1968
* Based and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
* Seasons
* Coaches
* Players
* First-round draft picks
* Draft history
* Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums|

* Nippert Stadium
* Riverfront Stadium
* Paycor Stadium

Culture|

* Paul Brown
* Sam Wyche
* Ickey Shuffle
* "Welcome to the Jungle"
* Ben–Gals
* Laura Vikmanis
* Bengalized

Lore|

* Freezer Bowl

Rivalries|

* Baltimore Ravens
* Cleveland Browns
* Pittsburgh Steelers

Division championships (11)|

* 1970
* 1973
* 1981
* 1988
* 1990
* 2005
* 2009
* 2013
* 2015
* 2021
* 2022

Conference championships (3)|

* 1981
* 1988
* 2021

Retired numbers|

* 54

Ring of Honor|

* Anthony Muñoz
* Paul Brown
* Ken Anderson
* Ken Riley
* Willie Anderson
* Isaac Curtis
* Boomer Esiason
* Chad Johnson

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Radio network
* Flagships: WCKY
* WEBN
* WLW
* Television: WKRC-TV

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: North Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1968–1969)

* v
* t
* e

Cincinnati Bengals head coaches

* Paul Brown (1968–1975)
* Bill Johnson (1976–1978)
* Homer Rice (1978–1979)
* Forrest Gregg (1980–1983)
* Sam Wyche (1984–1991)
* Dave Shula (1992–1996)
* Bruce Coslet (1996–2000)
* Dick LeBeau (2000–2002)
* Marvin Lewis (2003–2018)
* Zac Taylor (2019–present)

* v
* t
* e

Head coaches of the National Football League

American Football Conference

| AFC East| AFC North| AFC South| AFC West

|
|
|

* Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills)
* Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins)
* Jerod Mayo (New England Patriots)
* Robert Saleh (New York Jets)

* John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens)
* Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals)
* Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns)
* Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers)

* DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans)
* Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts)
* Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars)
* Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans)

* Sean Payton (Denver Broncos)
* Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs)
* Antonio Pierce (Las Vegas Raiders)
* Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers)

National Football Conference

| NFC East| NFC North| NFC South| NFC West

|
|
|

* Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys)
* Brian Daboll (New York Giants)
* Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles)
* Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders)

* Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears)
* Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions)
* Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers)
* Kevin O'Connell (Minnesota Vikings)

* Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons)
* Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers)
* Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints)
* Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

* Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals)
* Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams)
* Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers)
* Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks)

* Asterisk (*) denotes interim head coach

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template