Super Bowl 2022: Zac Taylor Reflects On How Oklahoma, Nebraska ...

JoinFREE 247Sports.com Newsletter - Join Today

• TrendingBig 12 Tournament 2026: Bracket, schedule, scores, how to watch
• TrendingACC Tournament 2026: Bracket, schedule, scores, how to watch

Third-year Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's football career hits a new peak Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles against the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, but his journey would not have been the same if not for a two-year chapter as Nebraska's quarterback. He explained the Huskers' impact in an interview with Tony Dungey.

"I was Sooner-born and Sooner-bred. And I thought, when I died, I'd be Sooner-dead. That's the saying that they teach you when you're young," Taylor said, who is from Norman, Oklahoma. "So my family — my dad (Richard Taylor) played there, coached there. They just won the national championship. I wasn't quite on their level yet. So I ended up going to Wake Forest (2003-04), transferred, ended up at Nebraska (2005-06). There's very healthy respect. It's not a bad rivalry, like Oklahoma-Texas. It's a healthy, respectful rivalry. So people were pretty happy when I went up there."

In 26 games at Nebraska, Taylor completed 470 of 821 passes (57.3%) for 5,850 yards and 45 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He credits his time under former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan (2004-07) and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Norvell (2004-06) for getting into coaching.

"Well, I played for a lot of really good coaches who had been in pro ball — starting with Bill Callahan, he was part of the West Coast offense, and Jay Norvell was my quarterback coach and offensive coordinator," Taylor said. "So those two guys taught me the rhythm and the timing of the pass game. And my dad had taught me the fundamentals of the quarterback, but I never really heard how to throw a Winston (Concept) route on time — five (steps), plant, throw, anticipate. And so, they taught me the nuances of it. When I graduated, I thought, 'I can't go into the business world. I'm not smart enough for that. All I know is football.' And so, that led me into coaching."

Taylor, 38, started his coaching climb as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M from 2008-11. He broke into the NFL in 2012 as the Miami Dolphins' assistant quarterbacks coach.

The Dolphins bumped Taylor up to quarterbacks coach (2013-14) and offensive coordinator (2015) before a one-and-done stint in college at Cincinnati as the Bearcats' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2016). Taylor's rise to the Bengals followed a two-year stint under Rams head coach Sean McVay as the assistant wide receivers coach (2017) and quarterbacks coach (2018).

Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. CLICK HERE to download the CBS Sports Mobile App and get the latest on your team today.

"I think, because of the quality of coaching that I got, made me realize how much fun this could be and how much there is to know about the game," Taylor said. "And it really set a great foundation for me to get into coaching. And so, it's worked out well."

247Sports Logo