5 Zac Taylor replacements who could take Bengals to the Super Bowl next season

At 4-7, we have to wonder if the Cincinnati Bengals have enough time to right the ship this season. This the fifth year of the Joe Burrow era in the Queen City. When he has been fully healthy, the Bengals play in AFC Championship games. When he is not, they miss the playoffs. Up to this point, that has been the case, but right now, we have to wonder if they need an upgrade at head coach.

Because the Bengals move to the beat of their own drum, without a drumstick, as the NFL's last mom and pop franchise, there is a chance they refuse to eat a cent of Zac Taylor's contract. He has proven to be a quality head coach in this league, but the message is getting stale in Cincinnati. If he were to be let go, he may just work for Brian Callahan in Nashville or take over leading the New Orleans Saints.

Regardless, I think it serves the Bengals to at least contemplate what life may look like in a post-Taylor world. There could be upwards of eight head-coaching jobs coming available. If the Bengals are one, they might be the best job because of Burrow. It is why the Brown-Blackburns have to seriously consider punting on their head coach. This would be an opportunity to quickly reset their franchise.

If I were calling the shots and thought it was time to move on from Taylor, here is where I would look.

5. Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

There are two candidates on Dan Campbell's Detroit Lions staff that I think would be home-run hires as prospective NFL head coaches this offseason. The first guy I will touch on is their star defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. He came over with Campbell from New Orleans off Sean Payton's staff as part of this current Lions regime. To me, he feels like an alpha male and a leader of men teams need.

What makes the Bengals the best job besides Burrow, and honestly, ownership being patient, is that either an offensive-minded or a defensive-minded head coach can have success here. We have seen the team flourish under Zac Taylor before, as well as get back to being respectable under Marvin Lewis a decade or so ago. Glenn was a finalist for a handful of NFL jobs that went to other candidates.

My biggest concern is that he may not be able to land the offensive coordinator of note Joe Burrow needs. However, there is a chance that he could bring along with him Mark Brunell from Detroit. Burrow and Taylor may have the Nebraska connection from Burrow's family playing there and the same with Taylor. I have a feeling having a former NFL being the one in Burrow's ear could be huge.

If the Bengals were to integrate some of what makes Detroit great, we could see a sizable rebound.

4. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski

Be careful what you wish for, Cleveland Browns fans. If ownership decides to move on from head coach Kevin Stefanski, he will have several head-coaching opportunities to choose from. I would say he is a serious candidate to the two current vacancies in New Orleans and New York. Stefanski has shown an ability to just win anyway in toughest ownership situations. Plus, he knows this division well.

I think right now the Browns are between a rock and a hard place organizationally. The coaching staff has talent, but the roster seems hopelessly incongruent. The Deshaun Watson deal was an unmitigated disaster. No matter what happens to Cleveland this offseason, their head coach should be allowed to draft his own quarterback next spring. Stefanski, Mike Vrabel, it does not really matter.

When it comes to Stefanski, I think he might take the Bengals job over the Jets and Saints jobs, all things equal, for two reasons. One, he would have the best quarterback with Joe Burrow over Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr. And two, I think the Browns potentially firing him would be so bad optically for Cleveland. He actually won here; no one wins here. I think he could turn heel and go to Cincinnati.

The Browns cannot possibly be dumb enough to let this happen, but they also traded for Watson...

3. Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady

While I am not quite sold on Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady being an NFL head coach just yet, I am liking the idea of reuniting him with Joe Burrow more and more with each passing second. Together, they orchestrated the greatest offense in college football history as a part of that amazing 2019 LSU Tigers team. Brady's work that year helped him get a job on Matt Rhule's staff.

Although it went to hell in a hand basket for Brady faster in Charlotte than you can say David Tepper, he seems to have reinvented himself as a great play-caller in Buffalo. Yes, getting to work with Josh Allen has been a huge boost, as was being the guy to replace the guy that was Brian Daboll calling the shots for the Buffalo offense. Brady must be careful on how he leaves Buffalo, but do it for Cincinnati.

Brady may be a serious candidate to replace Dennis Allen in New Orleans, or heck, even Brian Kelly in Baton Rouge should people really want to stop being part of his family. I would venture to guess that Brady will emerge as the best coordinator candidate in next year's cycle. A better job than even the Bengals gig could open up next season. Brady must be patient, but this is the job worth leaving for.

The best part in this is we have seen first-hand the type of in-game chemistry he has with Burrow.

2. Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

For my money, Mike Vrabel is by far and away the best head-coaching candidate in this cycle, both college and pro. Should Ryan Day fail at Vrabel's alma mater of Ohio State, he is the first name I call. For the life of me, I will never understand why the Tennessee Titans fired Vrabel to begin with. I like Brian Callahan's upside as a head coach, but Amy Adams Strunk owns the team and this is a problem.

Vrabel holds all the cards. Not only is he the best head coach on the market, but he is a serious candidate to be promoted from within. He is a consultant on Kevin Stefanski's staff in Cleveland. While I doubt that he would want to stay without Stefanski, he may just bring with him Stefanski to be his offensive play caller down state from Cleveland. Bengals fans would love this so incredibly much.

Like Joe Burrow, Vrabel played at Ohio State. They are Ohio men at their core. What makes Vrabel the best head-coaching candidate out there is his combination of being an alpha male, a former NFL player of note, a great in-game tactician and his ability to surround himself with great coaches. Whoever ends up getting him as their next head coach is going to win big and win big very quickly.

Yet for whatever reason, I do not think he comes to Cincinnati, as he decides to go somewhere else.

1. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson

I cannot believe I am doing this. Not to say that I do not believe in Ben Johnson's upside as an NFL head coach, but I just cannot get over the supposed infatuation with the Chicago Bears job. He coaches in division at Detroit. As long as The McCaskeys own the team and Ryan Poles is in the front office, I have no interest in seeing anyone of football quality going anywhere near Halas Hall again.

Johnson must be ultra-selective when choosing to leave the Lions. To me, he is like Dan Quinn was in Dallas. He may have stayed a year or two longer than he needed to be an NFL head coach, for the second time in his sake. Quinn waited for something like Washington to open up, a job Johnson apparently didn't want. Maybe he wants to work with the other LSU Heisman Trophy quarterback?

I have no idea if they will gel like Joe Burrow did with Joe Brady at LSU and for the most part with Zac Taylor in Cincinnati. This is one of two jobs I would consider leaving Detroit for if I was Johnson. The other would be Buffalo, and that would have to come on the heels of another playoff debacle orchestrated by defensive-minded Sean McDermott. Johnson to the Bengals is a game-changer.

Other good jobs may open up, but I only want to see Johnson leave Detroit for Cincinnati or Buffalo.