Stanford hired Troy Taylor as its next head football coach, the school announced Saturday.
Taylor was the head coach of Sacramento State, who were eliminated in the FCS playoffs on Friday by Incarnate Word 66-63, the highest scoring playoff game in FCS history.
The 54-year-old Taylor takes over for David Shaw, who stepped down last month after 12 seasons as winningest coach in school’s history. Under Shaw, the Cardinal won three Pac-12 championships, but went 3-9 for the second consecutive year.
“I am thrilled to be the new head football coach at Stanford University,” Taylor said. “The opportunity to lead the finest student-athletes in the country is truly a dream come true, and I would like to thank President Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Drell and Bernard Muir. I believe that Stanford Football is perfectly positioned to become champions on the football field while maintaining our world-class reputation for academic excellence.”
Taylor has Pac-12 ties as he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Utah in 2017 and 2018.
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He also led a prolific offense at Eastern Washington in 2016, where he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.