Who is Zac Taylor? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 41 Years, 41 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Sarah Sherman

father: Sherwood

siblings: Kathryn, Press Taylor, Quincy

children: Brooks Taylor, Luke Taylor

Born Country: United States

Coaches American Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

Notable Alumni: Butler Community College

U.S. State: Oklahoma

More Facts

education: Butler Community College

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Childhood & Early Life

Zac Taylor was born on May 10, 1983 in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, as the oldest of four children of Sherwood and Julie Taylor. His father played as a defensive back and captain for Oklahoma Sooners in the late 1970s and later coached at the University of Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Sherwood coached both him and his younger brother, Press, in football and basketball through middle school, and his younger sister, Quincy, in basketball and track up to high school. According to him, Zac was good at following the game-plan while Press was drawn towards improvising.

His sister, Kathryn, who has Down syndrome, has won several state Special Olympics titles in swimming. His brother, Press, played as a quarterback for Marshall University and later became the quarterback coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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College Career

Despite having an exceptional career at Norman High School, Zac Taylor suffered serious injury in his senior year that severely limited his collegiate options after he graduated in 2002. When he failed to get into even the Oklahoma Sooners in his hometown, he chose the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and redshirted that year.

Playing in a backup position in the next year, he could complete only one pass before being transferred to Butler Community College in Kansas where he had a breakout season in 2004. He registered 29 touchdowns and passed for almost 3,000 yards, and led the Butler to the NJCAA national championship game, for which he earned second-team NJCAA All-American honors.

He joined the Nebraska Cornhuskers late in the 2004-05 off-season and filled in the much-needed quarterback position in newly appointed coach Bill Callahan's West Coast offense strategy. Following a rough start completing 399 yards on 39 passes with a touchdown in his first three games, he made a school record of 36 passes for 431 yards with two touchdowns in the fourth.

He continued a successful run with a 392-yard-throw in a 30–3 win against Colorado and a school record of 3 touchdown passes in a come-from-behind 32–28 win against the Michigan Wolverines. During his first season at Nebraska, he broke the school record by registering 2,653 yards on passes and completing 55.1% of his passes.

He had a better start in 2006, completing 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception in the season opener and achieved a career-best four touchdowns in the second game. With 2,789 yards on passes and 24 touchdowns, he led the Huskers to the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game with a 9-3 record and was named the 'Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year'.

Professional Career

Zac Taylor, who was undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent but was cut from their roster during preseason training. He subsequently signed to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL as their fourth quarterback, but did not play in any game, which forced him to shift focus from playing to coaching.

Coaching Career

Zac Taylor's coaching career started at Texas A&M University during the 2008 season as an assistant to his father-in-law, head coach Mike Sherman, who made an exception to his rule of not working with family. He was the tight ends coach and graduate assistant for the Aggies until the end of the 2011 season, after which Sherman was fired due to the team's poor performance.

In the 2012 season, he was signed as the assistant quarterbacks coach under new head coach Joe Philbin for the Miami Dolphins, where his father-in-law also joined as offensive coordinator. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach at the end of the season and briefly served as the interim offensive coordinator starting in November 30, 2015, for which he earned praise from interim coach Dan Campbell.

Zac Taylor, the mentor of Miami Dolphins Quarterback Ryan Tannehill who broke several NFL records during the first four years of his career, was recommended to coach Tommy Tuberville by Dolphins' offensive line coach Jim Turner. During the 2016 season, he was hired as the offensive coordinator of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, where Tuberville was head coach.

He returned from college football to NFL within one year, this time as the assistant wide receivers coach of the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay. He helped the Rams clinch their first NFC West title since 2003 and was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018.

While there were rumors about it for a while, he was named the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals on February 4, 2019, after the season ended following their Super Bowl loss. Starting with a 21-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on his debut, he experienced the worst season start in franchise history with 11 back-to-back losses.

On Week 13 of the season, he registered the first win for the Bengals against the New York Jets by 22-6, and recorded a 33-23 win over the Cleveland Browns during Week 17. He ended the season matching the worst franchise record of 2-14 of 2002 and secured the first overall pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.

His dismal first-season record of two wins had raised concerns about his future with the Bengals, but before the season ended, it was reported that he will probably be retained irrespective of the team's performance. Interestingly, he was praised for his dedication and determination by several veteran players including seven-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and running back Giovani Bernard.

Family & Personal Life

Zac Taylor met Sarah Sherman, daughter of former Green Bay Packers' head coach Mike Sherman, at the University of Nebraska where he played for the football team and she was pursuing a master’s program. They married in 2008 after years of dating and have four children together: Brooks, Luke, Emma Claire, and Milly.

Zac Taylor Biography