Almost every assistant hired by new head coach Ben Johnson was met with intrigue from Chicago Bears fans, with the exception of one. The reports that Press Taylor, Jacksonville’s former offensive coordinator, was taking over as passing game coordinator didn’t receive positive vibes. Much of this stems from rumors that have followed the young assistant dating back to his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. Many blame him for the regression of quarterback Carson Wentz there and Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville over the past two years.
Former tight end Clay Harbor has a unique perspective on this. He played for the Eagles when Taylor was coaching there and spent extensive time at training camp in Jacksonville as an observer. He explained to 670 The Score that while Taylor isn’t adept as a play-caller, he has a well-deserved reputation as a good quarterback coach. That is the primary role he will serve in Chicago.
Press Taylor does get an unfair rep.
Harbor’s statements are supported by data. In 2018 and 2019, when he was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach, Wentz threw 48 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions in 27 games. His regression in 2020 was more about ongoing health issues and a growing rift with head coach Doug Pederson, who reportedly preferred starting rookie Jalen Hurts. Combine that with the fact that Pederson didn’t want to fire Taylor despite pressure from ownership to do so to placate Wentz, and the staff got fired.
As for what happened in Jacksonville, that is a jumbled mess. There was a constant back and forth on who called plays offensively for the Jaguars. He and Pederson shared them in 2022, which was successful. However, Press Taylor was given full duties in 2023. That didn’t go well. This, combined with his cloudy exit from Philadelphia, has led to a rather unfair reputation as a quarterback killer. He won’t be calling plays in Chicago. Johnson brought him in because it’s felt he can be another asset for quarterback Caleb Williams. Nothing more.
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Some writers in Jacksonville are now claiming the Jags dodged a bullet on hiring Johnson because he hired Taylor. Lol. They blame Press for Trevor playing poorly. Trevor is Trevor and he has peaked. He is what he is. Laid back surfer dude.
For me, it comes down to this – do you trust Ben Johnson or don’t you? Most people here wanted Johnson. OK, Johnson wants Taylor. End of story. At least give Johnson a season before you judge his coaching staff. It’s not fair to rip his choices before they’ve even coached a single preseason game together. I think it’s especially unfair since some of you advocated for more trust for Ryan Poles, blaming all his issues on Eberflus, despite the fact that he has already had 3 years and a .294 winning percentage – I’m pretty sure that’s about .185… Read more »
Well, we have our scapegoat on board now in case anything goes wrong. That was easy.
The scuttlebutt behind all these clicks bait articles regarding Press Taylor are laughable to put it mildly. Do any of you really believe that Ben Johnson hired a washout incapable of helping C Williams growth? If, you do, I wonder why Ben Johnson hasn’t called you for an interview????
For those who are complaining, he’s going to be like the 5th or maybe even the 6th in line on the offense behind Ben, our boy Deck, Randle El, JT Barrett, and maybe even the run game coordinator/OL Coach (whomever ends up being it).
He was the actual play caller in Jacksonville so he’s taking a rather drastic demotion this year. There’s nothing to complain about.