Stanford's Troy Taylor and Colorado's Deion Sanders Have Same Goals, Different Challenges
Stanford and Colorado are two Pac-12 programs that have a lot more in common than people realize, as they both were once prominent programs nationally that are fighting to return.
Stanford was one of the premier programs over the last decade, but fizzled the past few years, while Colorado was a power in the 90s and prior to this year was fighting to even be relevant. They are both in the first year of a new regime under coaches looking to save the program. However, it is their coaches that have more in common despite never really crossing paths before.
Both programs are led by rising star coaches from the FCS level, as Colorado is led by NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders after a stint at Jackson State that saw him go 27-6 across three seasons with two Cricket Celebration Bowl appearances . Stanford on the other hand is led by Troy Taylor who went 30-8 in three seasons at Sacramento State, with three playoff appearances.
The similarities don't stop there, as Taylor is just one year older, meaning their careers have almost crossed paths on multiple occasions. Taylor starred at quarterback at Cal from 1986-90, before being drafted in the 1990 NFL Draft in the fourth round by the New York Jets, while Sanders starred in both baseball and football at Florida State before being drafted in the 1989 draft as the No. 5 overall pick by the Falcons.
Taylor's career in the NFL wasn't nearly as long or decorated as Sanders' who won two Super Bowls, was an 8-time All-Pro, and was a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team among many other awards, but he did hang around from 1990-91 and 1993.
He, similar to Sanders did however get his coaching start and biggest break at the high school level, as he was the head coach or co-head coach at Folsom High School where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 58-3 record, 4 consecutive section championships and a state title from 2012-2015. He also helped tap into the potential of future Washington star quarterback Jake Browning, who under Taylor's tutelage set a national touchdown record in a career with 229 touchdown passes.
Sanders on the other hand had a couple other high school coaching stops, but found most of his success as the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian High School where he coached his sons.
Taylor's success at Folsom led to him becoming the Co-offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach at Eastern Washington for a year, before becoming Utah's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach which led to his stint at Sacramento State and now Stanford.
The two have expressed respect and fondness of each other and in a way are dealing with the same issues at their new jobs, but due to their respective programs are attacking it differently. Sanders has hit the ground running and has used his colossal platform as one one of the most iconic athletes ever to his advantage. Colorado is the most-watched team in the country, and off to an impressive 4-2 start with a roster made up almost entirely of transfer portal players with notable players like his two sons Shedeur and Shilo, as well as former No. 1 overall player Travis Hunter.
Taylor on the other hand inherited a roster that saw around 20 players leave in the portal and a handful of others for the NFL, but was only able to bring in five transfers. A number that actually was the most transfers Stanford had taken in the portal, as prior to that David Shaw had taken just one player transfer in, in Oklahoma safety Patrick Fields.
So, while Sanders looks well on his way to fixing his program in about a year or so thanks to the portal, Stanford has a steep uphill climb that is predicated on recruiting and development. Something he and his staff have been crushing, as they hold the No. 24 class in the country and appear to be on track to add more recruits to it.
The census around each program is that they hired the right guy, it'll just be a different journey to what they each hope is the same destination, which is success. This will be the first and last time they cross paths barring a bowl game in the future as Colorado is off to the Big 12 and Stanford the ACC. Sanders and his squad are favored by 11.5 and are looking to string together another win streak, while Stanford is looking to end their four game losing skid.
