Troy Taylor's tenure at Stanford hasn't begun as he would have wanted. The former Sacramento State head coach has only won one of his four games so far and the Cardinal would need an improvement in their performance after resuming action from their bye week.
Evidently, Taylor is not new to occurrences in the college football world. He played college in the '80s and started his coaching career within the landscape following his brief career in the NFL. Let's take a look at the college football career of the Stanford head coach.
Where did Troy Taylor play college football?
Troy Taylor had his college football career with the California Golden Bears following his tenure at Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California. He was the starting quarterback from 1986 to 1989 and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in his last three seasons.
He concluded his four-season collegiate career as the Golden Bears' all-time leading passer with 8,126 yards and the leader in total offense with 8,236 yards. These records remained unbroken until they were surpassed by current Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff in 2015.
Additionally, his 51 touchdown passes during his time at Cal held as a school record until former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Pat Barnes surpassed it in 1996. Following his college career, Taylor was drafted in the fourth round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.
Troy Taylor's coaching career
Troy Taylor started his coaching career as an offensive coordinator at Casa Roble High School in Orangevale, California in 1994. He was only there for one season before moving to Colorado in 1995 as a graduate assistant. He was also with the Buffaloes for just one season.
Taylor moved to his alma mater Cal in 1996 as a wide receiver coach, before becoming the quarterback coach the following season. He also transitioned to tight end coach for the Golden Bears in 1999 prior to his exit in 2000. This led him to another series of tenure in high school coaching.
Taylor returned to college football in 2016 with Eastern Washington as co-offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He moved to Utah the following season in the same role and was with the Utes until 2018.
He subsequently got his first head coaching job at Sacramento State in 2019 and was in charge of the Hornets until 2022. Taylor's performance at Sacramento State landed him a power job with Stanford. He has a huge task of proving his coaching prowess with the Cardinal.
Who's NEXT on the HOT SEAT? Check out the 7 teams that desperately need a coaching change