Troy Taylor on other college jobs: ‘I have no intention of being anywhere but here’
.jpg "Sac State head coach Troy Taylor celebrates by holding up the Big Sky Conference trophy after the Hornets won the 66th Causeway Classic against UC Davis on November 23, 2019. The first-year football coachâs name has come up with other college openings. He is focused on leading the Hornets to their first FCS playoff against Austin Peay with plans to stay.")
It’s this simple in business of change: When you’re a good coach, your name comes up when there are job openings.
And when you’re impact great at what you do? Your name tops lists.
That’s what’s happening to Troy Taylor.
Taylor is Sacramento State’s first-year football coach who has the Hornets soaring, and who’s name has been linked to the Colorado State post. And UNLV. And Fresno State.
In short, Taylor is flattered but not interested.
He was hired nearly a year ago by athletic director Mark Orr and president Robert S. Nelsen, signed to a 7-year contract and tasked with rebooting a program in decline. And to make it entertaining again, to make the football program something of civic pride.
One season in with more games to go, Taylor has succeeded with the force of a thunderbolt. Sac State has perhaps its finest team since starting football in 1954, certainly its best outfit since moving up from Division II to the FCS Division I level in 1994. The Hornets have gone from 2-8 last season to 9-3 now and will host their first playoff game in 31 seasons on Saturday against Austin Peay of Tennessee.
Taylor was named Big Sky Conference coach of the Year and is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson award that honors the FCS Coach of the Year.
Taylor has too much to do here and now to put too much thought into any new-job speculation.
“I do hear (about the openings from others) and people are curious,” Taylor said. “It’s nice to be mentioned in those circles, but I really like what I do here. I love what I’m doing.”
Yes, other jobs in larger leagues would offer more salary than Sac State with a chance to live in other parts of the state or country. When I first got to know Taylor early this decade, he was clear in that he wasn’t one to chase jobs or bounce around the land. He’s as simple and genuine as he is game-day coaching emphatic.
“For me, it’s never been about the money,” Taylor said. “It’s about enjoying the game and the people I’m around. I’m having a blast. I have no intention of being anywhere but here.”
Taylor is surrounded by a coaching staff he brought into place with a theme that unity and trust builds championships, including longtime pals Kris Richardson and Bobby Fresques from their Folsom High School coaching run. He also hired first-year defensive coordinator Andy Thompson, whom Taylor has raved about and credited heavily for the team’s success.
What’s more, Sacramento is home for Taylor. He grew up here and graduated from Cordova High School, just up the road from Hornet Stadium. Taylor, wife Tracey and their family rather enjoy living here.
Taylor and family experienced the vagabond nature of this profession after years of being settled in at Folsom. Taylor worked at Eastern Washington in the Big Sky as offensive coordinator in 2016 and in the same role at Utah of the Pac-12 the previous two seasons.
That Taylor took a considerable pay cut to leave Utah to return to Sacramento last winter is all you need to know about his priorities. He added, “We’re just getting started. We want to build something really special here. Those things take time.”
It’s common for big-name coaches to be tied to opening. It happened with Chris Petersen as immediate speculation had him leaving Washington for the USC gig, or one within the SEC, or even the Dallas Cowboys. All bogus, of course. He stepped down to recharge with no interest of leaving campus.
Orr, the Sac State AD, knows what it is like to have a coach draw outside interest. It happened regularly when he was athletic director at Saint Mary’s in Moraga, where basketball coach Randy Bennett built a mid-major power.
“I think this is the start of something special with Troy and his staff,” Orr said, watching Thursday’s practice. “Troy likes to teach, likes to coach, likes to be around his people. I take it as a compliment that his name has come up. It means you’re doing a good job, and it doesn’t concern me that others might be interested. I do know this: I see Troy every day. I know he loves what he’s doing. He wants to build this program and we want him here.”