How the Cincinnati Bengals will respond to a losing season despite an MVP-like performance from Joe Burrow could say a lot about the future of the organization.

Of course, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is at the center of such a reaction.

However, according to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, Zac Taylor’s hot-seat watching may be slowing down – there’s a feeling in the building in Cincinnati that the problems started at the top.

“One thing about Zac Taylor is that he is extremely popular,” Schultz told Colin Cowherd, “with the people and players that matter in this building. That helps him a lot. What also helps him is the fact that ownership hasn’t backed down.” The Bengals had the right opportunity to start this season. They could have paid Trey Hendrickson, but the most important thing was that they got to the goal line with Ja’Marr Chase.

Savvy Bengals fans already knew these points. It was expected that it would not be possible to conclude a long-term deal with Higgins. Now, due to the failed season, things already seem to be going in the other direction.

What wasn’t expected was the missed opportunity to prevent Chase’s expensive extension. Now the price is rising and as a result they will suffer elsewhere in the squad.

Consider the mounting losses of Jessie Bates, DJ Reader and others, as well as an abysmal track record in recent drafts (first-rounders Myles Murphy and Dax Hill are unable to take the field or have made positional changes, etc.) and the mistakes that come with it was immense.

Now what matters is whether this is just chatter or actually driving organizational change. To their credit, the Bengals did a good job of modernizing in many ways during the Burrow era.

Whether that’s what happens next with the draft process and how they pay players when assembling the roster will determine whether the window to compete has closed and they have another disgruntled franchise passer or if this was just an isolated incident Oops, our mistake Season.

Either way, it sounds like Zac Taylor is safe.

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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s fate is hinted at in a new report