Zac Taylor heard Ja'Marr Chase's postgame comments following Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers but didn't take issue with his star player essentially calling out the play calls.
"He's emotional, and when you got a guy that works as hard as he does, leaves it all on the field, I do think things -- I don't want to say 'misconstrued' -- but can look differently than what they really are," the Cincinnati Bengals coach said Tuesday, via Sports Illustrated. "… He's a guy that is one of the most genuine players I've ever been around and honest, insightful, puts it all out there for us. I don't have problems with guys that work as hard as they do, speaking with emotion after the game, speaking with passion."
Following the 34-27 loss, Chase was asked about the Bengals' inability to finish games this season. The wideout put the question on the coaches.
"Ask Zac," he said at the time. "Ask the coaches. That's not my job. I play football on the field. I don't call plays for us."
The man who does call the plays said he's not worried about Chase's comments in a postgame setting.
"He and I are very much on the same page and appreciate the work he puts in, and sometimes postgame, it's emotional, and that's the way it is," Taylor said.
Over the years, Cincy players haven't been shy about pointing the finger at Taylor for club failures. Former Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, now in Tennessee, made similar comments a few years ago. Those vocal points don't bother Taylor, who said it's healthy to disagree and simply a byproduct of wanting to win.
"Because there's not a non-relationship there with the player," he said. "These are things that we try to be proactive about, to put these guys in the best position possible to succeed. And I feel very confident we put Ja'Marr in the best position possible to succeed. He's first in every category there is. We make a conscious effort to involve him and make sure he's always a big part of that."
Taylor added: "I always love the dialogue with him in terms of game plan, how we're going to use you. I think he's come a long way. He's not a captain with it on his chest, but in so many ways, he acts like one. So again, I don't ever hold against a player when they're after a game having an emotional response."
The 4-7 Bengals are on their bye week, ahead of the home stretch. Only six of 158 teams to start 4-7 since 1990 have made the postseason.