Bengals officially hire Rams' Zac Taylor as head coach

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The Cincinnati Bengals officially named Zac Taylor the 10th coach in team history Monday.

Taylor joins the Bengals after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He spent the 2018 season as the Rams' quarterbacks coach after serving as the team's assistant wide receivers coach in 2017.

The Bengals fired longtime head coach Marvin Lewis on New Year's Eve after he spent 16 years with the franchise.

"I am happy and fortunate to join the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach," Taylor said in news a release from the team.

"This is a great organization with good people and a rich history, and I am excited to get started. I am looking to add to that history by setting high standards, and holding everyone here accountable to those standards. There is a lot of work to do, and this is Day 1. We're going to attack every day with enthusiasm to get this team ready to go."

Taylor served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M before joining the Miami Dolphins in 2012 as an assistant quarterbacks coach. He became the Dolphins' quarterbacks coach in 2013 and held that role until leaving in 2016 to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Cincinnati. Taylor also served as the Dolphins' interim offensive coordinator in 2015.

"Zac is a bright coach with an offensive mind and background, which is important to have in today's NFL," Bengals president Mike Brown said. "And he's young. He embraces new ideas and new ways to do things, which will be a good thing for us. I believe our team will be exciting and fun to watch with him at the helm."

The Bengals will introduce Taylor at a news conference Tuesday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.