Why Stanford Should Hire Troy Taylor as Head Coach
Troy Taylor has worked his way to be an excellent head coach at the FCS level at Sacramento State. Taylor has a resume that fits what Stanford needs in a head coach. He has experience in the Pac-12 while being the offensive coordinator for the University of Utah. He then became the head coach for the Sacramento State Hornets and helped make them one of the best FCS programs.
His Teams Win
Troy Taylor is a winner. As the offensive coordinator at Utah, he helped the Utes to a 10-3 record. Then the moment he went to Sacramento State he built a winning program. He is 30-7 since taking over at Sacramento State including the postseason. That is a winner, even dating back to his time as a high school head coach when he was 73-18. He just wins. Some people are just winners, for example, a name that Stanford fans remember, Jim Harbaugh a former FCS coach at the University of San Diego, won, Stanford won, NFL he won and now with Michigan, he wins. Stanford needs a coach that knows how to win and that is definitely coach Taylor.
He Develops Talent
Stanford may not have the luxury of getting transfer students or lucrative NIL deals right now. If they do not fix that they'll need to recruit well and develop the talent. Taylor comes from a school that didn't have the luxury of recruiting top recruits, he was lucky to get a few 3-star players every year, if that. However, that didn't stop coach Taylor from developing his recruits to become winners and talented. He even has had players transfer out and make huge impacts on other teams. Sound familiar right sounds like Stanford gets recruits to develop them and they transfer through the portal. Taylor has dealt with this and he's been able to overcome players leaving by developing his entire roster to continue to be able to win. Stanford needs a coach that understands the value of developing his recruits if they do not see a near future of getting transfer students and NIL deals. If you want to know a player he has helped develop just think about Cooper Kupp, who he helped at Eastern Washington get 1,700 receiving yards.
He Is an Offensive-Minded Head Coach
Taylor is an offensive-minded head coach that brings a unique offensive look. He creates open throws for his quarterbacks. His offensive mind at Utah as their offensive Coridator had them averaging 30 points per game. As the head coach at Sacramento State his offense averages 41 points per game which has them ranked 4th in points per game at the FCS level.
Stanford's last two coaches and another of their finalist Jason Garrett are all offensive minded coaches. The offense ran at Sacramento State is unique, its innovative, different, and is willing to do what it takes to win games. His offense will run the ball, stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. Taylor isn't afraid to coach aggressive, if you want to stop the run hes going to throw a deep pass on you, if you take away the deep pass you best believe he's attacking the intermediate to short part of the field, he is a very balanced attack as a offensive coach.
A Northern California Guy
He's from Northern California or as some would say, "NorCal". He grew up in Folsom, and even coached high school football there. He played college ball at Stanford's rival Cal Berkley, so he understands that rivalry. He knows the recruiting area since he was at Sacramenot State.
At the end of the day, Taylor is a perfect fit for Stanford. He is a coach that will come in a lead a program. He has the grit and leadership this program needs. New energy for a program and may be coming off a FCS championship if he continues to win before he is hired as the Stanford Head Coach. Troy Taylor will get a P5 job soon Stanford should see if he can coach at a higher level.