Report: Ex-Cal Star Troy Taylor, Ex-Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett Are Stanford Finalists

Taylor's Sac State team faces Incarnate Word in the FCS playoffs on Friday night.

Former Cal star quarterback and current Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor and ex-Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett are finalists for the Stanford coaching vacancy, according to a report by The Athletic.

No word on whether Taylor and Garrett are the only finalists to replace David Shaw, who stepped down following the Cardinal’s third straight losing season.

Taylor, 54, has compiled a three-year record of 30-11 at Sac State, including a 12-0 mark this season that has the Hornets seeded No. 2 in the FCS playoffs. They play No. 7 Incarnate Word in the opening round of the postseason on Friday night in Sacramento.

Earlier this week, Taylor was named the AFCA Region 5 FCS Coach of the Year. Regional winners in the FBS division this season include former Cal coach Sonny Dykes of TCU and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith.

Taylor played at Cal from 1986-89, passing for a then-program record 8,126 yards with 51 touchdown passes. He saw action in seven games over two seasons with the New York Jets, throwing for 125 yards with two TDs.

Prior to landing Sacramento State in his hometown, Taylor had assistant coaching stints at Cal (1996-2000), Eastern Washington (2016) and Utah (as offensive coordinator in 2017-18). He also directed a very successful program at Folsom High School from 2002-15, where his players included future Washington star Jake Browning.

Jason Garrett / Twitter

Garrett, 56, fashioned a win-loss record of 85-67 as coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010-19. He won just two playoff games during those 10 seasons, and was fired after going 8-8 his final season.

He was offensive coordinator for the New York Giants in 2020 and ’21 before being fired in November of last year.

Prior to landing the Cowboys’ top job, Garrett was quarterbacks coach for two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, then offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Cowboys for four years.

Garrett, who graduated from Princeton in the Ivy League, was undrafted by the NFL but put together a pro career that endured for 15 years. He spent eight seasons with the Cowboys and had brief stints with the Saints, Giants and Buccaneers.

The highlight of his playing career was as a substitute starting quarterback for injured starter Troy Aikman in a Thanksgiving 1994 game, when he passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, leading the Cowboys to a victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Garrett currently works as an analyst for NBC. A year ago he was a finalist for the head coaching job at Duke, which went to Mike Elko.

Other candidates whom Stanford is reported to have interviewed but are no longer in the mix are former BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, Baltimore Colts offensive coordinator Greg Roman and former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio.

 Cover photo of Troy Taylor courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo