MADRID, Spain - Zac Taylor spent Nov. 5 doing more than his usual job.
Ahead of the Bengals’ first practice before the Nov. 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons, Taylor met with reporters at the Spanish soccer federation’s national training center in the Madrid suburbs and found himself answering a very different kind of lineup of questions. After eight years on the job, he knows the familiar rhythm of Bengals beat coverage well enough to steer conversations where he wants them. In Madrid, though, the audience was broader, the questions looser and the setting far from Paycor Stadium.
That meant Taylor was asked about things he would rarely, if ever, hear back home: Cincinnati’s chances as a Super Bowl contender in Week 9, which side of Madrid’s crosstown soccer rivalry he prefers, what Spanish fans might connect with in the Bengals brand and even how football is played. He smiled when the conversation turned to the way fans at Wembley Stadium reacted during the Bengals’ last trip abroad in 2019, cheering loudest for kickoffs.
When asked about the Bernabeu, Taylor leaned into the moment. “The tradition of soccer here is unbelievable, so I think to be able to be in a stadium where there’s so much history is cool for our guys.”
He also got a chance to help with the basics of the Bengals’ presence in Spain. Asked how to cheer for the team, Taylor offered a simple answer: “Let’s get everyone in Spain yelling, ‘Who dey,’”
Taylor handled the range of questions without making much of a fuss. If a reporter and Taylor didn’t quite understand each other, he stopped and waited until they had enough of a translation to keep going.
He didn’t dodge the unfamiliar topics, and he didn’t turn the session into something stiff or overly polished. At one point, he even danced around the Madrid soccer-rivalry question with a neutral response.
After roughly 20 minutes, everyone in the room had what they came for. The regular Bengals reporters got the injury updates and Taylor’s thoughts on the Falcons. Local media got a coach who was willing to talk about Madrid, the training center and the reigning FIFA men’s World Cup champions who use the facility.
In that setting, Taylor wasn’t just the Bengals head coach. He was also an ambassador for the team, the NFL and football itself.
“I think growing our sport internationally is the right thing to do,” Taylor said. “I embrace it.”
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