Stanford Football Hires Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor

Taylor led the Hornets to a 12–1 season and FCS quarterfinal appearance in 2022.

Stanford has hired Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor as its next coach, the school announced Saturday afternoon. The Sacramento Bee broke the news earlier in the afternoon, after Taylor informed the outlet of the move.

Taylor takes over after the Nov. 27 resignation of longtime Cardinal coach David Shaw after 12 seasons. The hiring was finalized a day after Taylor’s Hornets dropped a 66–63 thriller to Incarnate Word in the FCS quarterfinals.

Before the loss, Sacramento State had started 12–0, peaking at No. 2 in both major FCS polls. The Hornets blew out Colorado State 41–10 on Sept. 24, the most lopsided win by an FCS team over an FBS team since 2017.

Taylor played collegiately at California, Stanford’s rival, from 1986 to ’89. He spent two seasons with the New York Jets before embarking on a coaching career.

In 2016, Taylor was the co-offensive coordinator of an Eastern Washington team that reached the FCS semifinals. Utah then hired him as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and he helped the Utes to a bowl win in 2017 and a Pac-12 South division title in ’18.

With Sacramento State, Taylor went 30–7, leading the Hornets to three playoff appearances—the first postseason trip for Sacramento State at any level since 1988.

The resignation of Shaw—the winningest coach in the Cardinal's history—came in the wake of three losing seasons in four years, as well as mounting questions over Stanford's ability to compete in college football's new NIL- and transfer-friendly era.