Following Damar Hamlin’s breakdown, Bengals coach Zac Taylor discloses having a sombre talk with Sean McDermott.
After speaking with Buffalo coach Sean McDermott shortly after Damar Hamlin fainted on the pitch on Monday night, Bengals coach Zac Taylor realised right away how severe Hamlin’s situation was.
In the moments following the Bills safety’s collapse and cardiac arrest, McDermott said to Taylor, “I have to be at the hospital for Damar.” In his first remarks since the potentially fatal event, Taylor told reporters on Wednesday, “I shouldn’t be coaching this game.”
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor speaks with the media, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Cincinnati.
He demonstrated his true self. He was only thinking about Damar.
The coach of the Bengals also praised the prompt action of the medical staff, who started CPR on Hamlin on the pitch and ultimately stabilised him sufficiently for the ambulance to take him to University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, where he is now in serious condition. The Bills announced on Wednesday that the 24-year-old has shown indications of progress and that he would likely stay in intensive care while still receiving treatment and monitoring.
Taylor stated, “I thought that all the medical professionals that were involved—the emergency response team, the paramedics, the Bills’ trainers, and the Bills’ doctors—were on it and composed. It was evidently a complicated situation on the field that everyone was trying to process.”
Taylor also gave the on-field referees credit for handling what was effectively an unusual
circumstance.
“I think the officials, Shawn Smith and his team, did an amazing job handling a situation where there’s no rulebook, no protocols for how to handle that,” Taylor remarked. “They performed incredibly well. The gravity of the situation was evident to every player on the pitch, and they performed a fantastic job of taking a step back, asking the Bills what they needed, asking us what we needed, and allowing us time to gather our thoughts.
