ARGOMENTO: Capital-Journal last fall how his injuries had aff

CINCINNATI (AP) — After 16 years without a playoff win under Marvin Lewis Germaine Pratt Jersey , the Bengals decided to try something different. But they had to wait more than a month before hiring Zac Taylor as their next coach in hopes of ending a long streak of futility.Taylor’s already been in town enough to know the history.The Rams quarterbacks coach reached a deal Monday a few hours after LA’s 13-3 loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl at Atlanta. Cincinnati had to wait until after the title game to make his hiring official. The Bengals and Dolphins were the last two teams to fill head coaching vacancies, with Miami getting the Patriots’ Brian Flores.After three straight losing seasons and 28 years without a playoff victory, Cincinnati joined the latest wave — turning to a young, offensive-minded coach.“Zach is a bright coach with an offensive mind and background, which is important to have in today’s NFL,” owner Mike Brown said in a statement. “And he’s young. He embraces new ideas and new ways to do things, which will be a good thing for us.”Taylor is the Bengals’ youngest head coach since they hired Dave Shula at age 32 in in 1992. Shula went on to lose 50 games faster than any coach in NFL history, finishing 19-52.The Bengals will introduce Taylor on Tuesday in what amounts to a homecoming for the 35-year-old coach.Taylor has a head start, familiar with the city’s affinity for chili parlors. He was offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in 2016, when the Bearcats finished 4-8. Coach Tommy Tuberville was replaced after the season, and Taylor headed back to the NFL.He also knows about the professional football team’s longstanding futility, too. During his one year in town, the Bengals were starting their streak of three straight losing seasons that ultimately cost Lewis his job .Taylor is taking a cue from his father-in-law, a former NFL head coach, in how to handle his new job.“My father-in-law, Mike Sherman, coached a long, long time http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-ryan-finley-jersey , and he just said, ‘Be true to yourself. Be who you are, and people will follow you,'” Taylor said during Super Bowl week. “And I found that way to work for me.”His challenge is reminiscent of what Lewis faced when he arrived in 2003. He’ll be counted upon only to win games, but also to win back fans turned off by the owner’s aversion to change.Brown was loyal to Lewis and stuck with him despite an 0-7 mark in the playoffs, the worst in NFL history for a head coach. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season under Sam Wyche, tied with Washington for the fifth-longest streak of postseason futility in league history.Since then, Shula, Bruce Coslet, Dick LeBeau and Lewis failed to get a playoff win. They managed only seven winning seasons combined, all by Lewis.Crowds at Paul Brown Stadium have shrunk each of the last three years, with the Bengals finishing next-to-last in the NFL attendance last season. By bringing in an outsider as head coach, the Bengals hope to send a message that things are changing.It won’t be easy in the short-term.Last season, the Bengals had their youngest team in Lewis’ 16 years, and the inexperienced showed. Also, they’ve been unsettled at the coordinator positions in recent years, adding to the challenge. Quarterback Andy Dalton will be working under his third different coordinator in the last three seasons. The defense will have its fourth coordinator in three years — Lewis moved into the role last season after firing Teryl Austin.Taylor’s work with quarterbacks made him a head coaching prospect.He wasn’t much of a quarterback prospect himself. Undrafted out of Oklahoma, he played one year as a backup with Winnipeg in the CFL.He joined the Dolphins in 2012 and helped Ryan Tannehill develop into one of the league’s top passers. He took over as offensive coordinator for five games in 2015 after Bill Lazor — the Bengals’ coordinator last season — was fired. After the one season at the University of Cincinnati Renell Wren Jersey , Taylor hooked up with the Rams to work with Jared Goff.Now he’s going to run an entire team.“A lot of things stand out about him, but Zac is so good at communication and being open and honest,” Goff said. “He’s a lot like Sean (McVay) in that way. He’s got a bright future.” TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Washburn University football players who were shot outside of an off-campus house party hours after one of them was drafted by the New York Giants were “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” authorities said Monday.The shooting early Sunday killed defensive back Dwane Simmons and injured cornerback Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants drafted in the sixth round on Saturday.Giants general manager Dave Gettleman told SiriusXM NFL radio Monday that Ballentine was expected to join the team for its minicamp this weekend.“He’s a really bright kid and he’s a great kid,” Gettleman said. “What happened is tragic and unfortunate. That’s his best friend he was with. We spoke to him on Sunday. He’s coming along fine. He’ll be here Thursday for the minicamp this weekend.”Topeka Police Chief Bill Cochran said a preliminary investigation showed that Simmons and Ballentine were among roughly 50 people at the party, which was not specifically to celebrate Ballentine being drafted, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. After a disturbance inside the home, the two 23-year-old players and some other partygoers went outside, he said.A car containing two to four people — who were strangers to the men — pulled up and exchanged words with people in the street.“We have no indication that any of the conversation was confrontational,” Cochran said.Someone from the car apparently shot Simmons and Ballentine, but it was unclear Monday if the shots came from inside or outside the car, Cochran said.The altercation inside the home and the shooting don’t appear to be linked, he said, and the people inside the car apparently didn’t attend the party.Police were questioning more than 20 potential witnesses Monday. They also questioned Ballentine but hoped to do a longer interview later, Cochran said.Police haven’t said how many times Simmons and Ballentine were shot. And no information on possible suspects or the vehicle has been released.A candlelight vigil for Simmons will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday on the Washburn campus.On Sunday, Simmons’ father said his son’s death had “shattered a lot of people.”“This was a senseless murder http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-michael-jordan-jersey ,” Navarro Simmons said at a gathering of family and friends in Kansas City.Craig Schurig, the Division II program’s head coach, said Simmons’ death is heartbreaking. He said Simmons, a junior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, maintained a great attitude, even while battling through two knee injuries. The team gathered Sunday to mourn his death.Simmons told The Topeka Capital-Journal last fall how his injuries had affected his outlook.“It’s more than a game to me now,” Simmons said. “I came in as a walk-on and had to earn a scholarship, then tore an ACL, redshirted and tore another one. It really puts everything in perspective that this game can be taken away from you in a blink of an eye. So I take this game to heart. I get emotional about this stuff and I take this game very, very seriously, and I’m having a great time.”The Giants in a statement Sunday said, “Our thoughts are with Dwane Simmons’ family, friends and teammates and the rest of the Washburn community.”Ballentine played in 46 games for the Ichabods, finishing with 186 tackles, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and five interceptions. He blocked four kicks and averaged 24.81 yards on kickoff returns.