Urgent.News

What's breaking now, across thousands of outlets.

Culture

Stephen A Smith Urges AFC Team to Fire Head Coach

ESPN broadcasting personality Stephen A. Smith called on the Cincinnati Bengals to replace head coach Zac Taylor.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith urged the Cincinnati Bengals to fire their head coach, Zac Taylor, during Tuesday's First Take broadcast. The Bengals are currently 2-2 at the start of the 2026 NFL season, losing both of their most recent games. They began the year with victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans, but then suffered defeats to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

In their latest matchup, the Jaguars defeated the Bengals 22-17 on Sunday. During the discussion, Smith questioned Taylor's performance as a head coach, noting that the team's weapons have not translated into success compared to Taylor's overall record of 54-65-1 over the past eight years with the Bengals. The team's quarterback, Joe Burrow, also struggled, throwing two interceptions and facing a poor performance from their leading rusher, Chase Brown, who gained only 10 yards on the ground. The Bengals aim to improve their standing with a Week 5 game against the 0-4 Miami Dolphins.

Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

Read the original at newsweek.com →

More in Culture

More from Tuesday 6 October →