Ex-Cal QB Troy Taylor Appears to Be Frontrunner for Stanford Job

Jason Garrett apparently pulled out, leaving the Sacramento State coach as the top remaining candidate for the Cardinal vacant head coaching position

Former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor appears to be the front-runner for the Stanford head coaching vacancy now that Jason Garrett has apparently pulled his name from consideration.

Taylor is the head coach at Sacramento State, and the Hornets play an FCS quarterfinal playoff game against Incarnate Word tonight (Friday) in Sacrtamento, so there is unlikely to be announcement from Stanford about a head coach hiring today (Friday).

It would be tough pill to swallow for Cal fans if one of the outstanding quarterbacks in Cal history ends up being the head coach of the Bears' Bay Area rival.

Taylor and former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett reportedly were among the finalists for the Stanford job, and they were the only two mentioned in reports regarding finalists.  Whether there might be another candidate that has not been revealed in the media is unknown.  

But when Garrett announced via social media that he is choosing to remain an analyst for Notre Dame football, it seemed to indicate that Taylor was the last man standing.

Thanks so much to AD Bernard Muir and everyone at Stanford! While I enjoyed exploring a great opportunity at such a special place, I’m so excited to continue my work at NBC on Football Night in America and with Notre Dame Football!

— Jason Garrett (@JasonGarrett) December 9, 2022

Garrett's tweet is somewhat ambiguous, but several media outlets have interpreted the message as saying Garrett has pulled his name from consideration for the Stanford job left vacant when David Shaw resigned.

Taylor, 54, has a three-year record of 30-11 at Sac State, including a 12-0 mark this season. The Hornets are seeded No. 2 in the FCS playoffs and face No. 7 Incarnate Word in the quarterfinals after eliminating Richmond in their openoing playoff game.

Taylor was named the AFCA Region 5 FCS Coach of the Year.

Taylor played at Cal from 1986 through 1989. Though the Bears did not have any winning seasons in Taylor's four seasons as Cal's starting quarterback, he passed for a then-school-record 8,126 yards with 51 touchdown passes.

Taylor was selected in the fourth round of the 1990 NFL draft by the New York Jets, and played in seven games over two seasons for the Jets. He did not start any games, but threw for 125 yards with two TDs.

Taylor was an assistant coach at Cal from 1996 through 2000. He was later an assistant at Eastern Washington (2016) and Utah (as offensive coordinator in 2017-2018). He was the coach at Folsom High School from 2002-2015, where his players included future Washington star Jake Browning.

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Cover photo of Troy Taylor by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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