LOS ANGELES (Nexstar) — The Cincinnati Bengals are playing in their first Super Bowl since the 1988 season. It’s been quite a turnaround for this young team whose success is linked to one man.

Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor left Los Angeles after the Rams lost the Super Bowl in 2019. He took over Cincinnati and built an identity of his own with this team. That identity resulted in one of the quickest franchise turnarounds in the history of the NFL.

In his first season, the Bengals went 2-14. Two years later they are one win away from being NFL champions. Taylor, at 38 one of the youngest coaches in the league, set out creating that identity for the Bengals that every player has been able to get behind.

“The definition of a Bengal since Zac started being our coach was a physical, hungry, accountable teammate willing to do anything to get their job done and that’s just something we all memorize and live by,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “That’s what it means to be a Bengal and we all try to adhere to that.”

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor holds the Lamar Hunt trophy after the AFC championship NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. The Bengals won 27-24 in overtime. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

It’s not just the team that is enamored with Taylor. The city of Cincinnati also embraces him.

After the Bengals won their first postseason game this year Taylor went to a bar in Cincy on his way home to give out game balls to fans. He’s done it every game since the. Players, like tight end CJ Uzomah, also give them out.

Now they will try to win the first Super Bowl title in franchise history when they face Taylor’s former team, the Rams, on their home turf.