Zac Taylor

This article is about American football player and coach. For New Zealand singer, member of boyband Titanium, see Zac Taylor (singer).

Zac Taylor

Cincinnati
Position:	Offensive Coordinator Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1983-05-10) May 10, 1983
Place of birth:	Norman, Oklahoma
Height:
Weight:
Career information
College:	Nebraska
Undrafted:	2007
Career history
As player:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2007)
As coach:
Texas A&M (Grad Assistant) (2008–2011) Miami Dolphins (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach) (2012) Miami Dolphins (Quarterbacks Coach) (2013-) Miami Dolphins (Offensive Coordinator) (2015- 2016) Cincinnati Bearcats (Offensive Coordinator) (2016-present)

Zac Taylor (born May 10, 1983) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats. From 2005 to 2006, he was the starting quarterback for Cornhuskers football team at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was recruited late in the 2004-2005 off-season by the Huskers, being a described "lucky break" due to the Huskers lack of quarterbacks at the time. He led Nebraska to an 8-4 record during his inaugural year, 2005, as a starter at quarterback. Taylor is from Norman, Oklahoma, hometown of the rival University of Oklahoma Sooners. He signed with the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. Taylor was later cut from the team's 85 man roster and joined the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers as their 4th quarterback. The Blue Bombers played in the Grey Cup (the CFL Championship game) on November 25, 2007.

Early collegiate career

Despite Taylor's record-setting career at Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, few colleges recruited him. Even his hometown school, the Oklahoma Sooners, passed him over. In 2002, he signed with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, where he redshirted his first year, and filled in as a backup position the next, completing the only pass he attempted in those 2 years. From there he transferred to Butler Community College (Kansas) where he passed for nearly 3,000 yards with 29 touchdowns. In his breakout season, Taylor led Butler to the NJCAA championship game and earned second-team NJCAA All-American honors.

College career

After his 2004 season Taylor looked at multiple NCAA Division I schools, including Memphis, Marshall and Nebraska. Nebraska had abandoned their long standing running/option offense for an entirely new, West Coast offense led by newly appointed coach Bill Callahan. The Huskers had a rebuilding season in 2004, going 5-6 and missing a bowl bid for the first time since 1968. Taylor had a rough start, statistically speaking, in his 2005 year at Nebraska, completing 39 of 89 passes for 399 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in his first three games. In his fourth game however, Taylor had a breakout day against Iowa State, throwing for a school record 431 yards on 36 of 55 passing with two touchdowns. He steadily improved throughout the season, ending in a 30-3 win against Colorado where he threw 392 yards, and a come-from-behind 32-28 win against the Michigan Wolverines in the Mastercard Alamo Bowl, where he threw a Nebraska bowl record 3 touchdown passes. Taylor broke the school record for passing yards in a season with 2,653 yards on 55.1% of his passes being complete.

In his 2006 opener against Louisiana Tech, Taylor showed significant improvement over his season-opener the previous year, completing 22 of 33 attempts for 287 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception. The game after, against Nicholls State, Taylor once again showed his precision in passing the ball, finishing 19 of 23 for 202 yards and a new career-best in 4 touchdown passes.

Taylor led the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a record of 9-3 with an appearance in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, facing off against the Oklahoma Sooners. Taylor passed for 2789 yards and 24 touchdown passes during the regular season and earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Post-college

On January 30, 2012, Taylor was named assistant quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was previously an assistant coach at Texas A&M, serving under former head coach Mike Sherman. On November 30th, 2015, he was promoted to the team's interim offensive coordinator, after the firing of the previous offensive coordinator, Bill Lazor.

Personal life

Taylor is married to Sarah Sherman, and they have two sons, Brooks and Luke. Taylor's younger brother, Press Taylor, was a quarterback for Marshall University and is currently the offensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Taylor's father, Sherwood, was a defensive back and captain for Oklahoma and head coach Barry Switzer from 1976-1979.

Statistics

2005

			Passing
Opponent	Team		Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	INT
Maine	Nebraska Cornhuskers		15	36	41.7	192	0	2
Wake Forest	Nebraska Cornhuskers		14	33	42.4	114	1	1
Pittsburgh	Nebraska Cornhuskers		10	20	50.0	93	0	0
Iowa State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		36	55	65.5	431	2	0
Texas Tech	Nebraska Cornhuskers		21	35	60.0	229	2	2
Baylor	Nebraska Cornhuskers		18	32	56.3	168	2	0
Missouri	Nebraska Cornhuskers		22	43	51.2	281	2	2
Oklahoma	Nebraska Cornhuskers		25	45	55.6	249	2	2
Kansas	Nebraska Cornhuskers		14	26	53.8	117	1	1
Kansas State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		21	31	67.7	220	2	0
Colorado	Nebraska Cornhuskers		27	43	62.8	392	2	0
Michigan	Nebraska Cornhuskers		14	31	45.2	167	3	2
	Totals		237	430	55.1	2653	19	12

2006

			Passing
Opponent	Team		Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	INT
Louisiana Tech	Nebraska Cornhuskers		22	33	66.7	287	3	1
Nicholls State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		19	23	82.6	202	4	0
Southern California	Nebraska Cornhuskers		8	16	50.0	115	0	0
Troy	Nebraska Cornhuskers		14	17	82.4	268	1	1
Kansas	Nebraska Cornhuskers		15	33	45.5	395	4	0
Iowa State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		17	21	81.0	131	1	0
Kansas State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		12	21	57.1	149	1	0
Texas	Nebraska Cornhuskers		15	28	53.6	277	2	1
Oklahoma State	Nebraska Cornhuskers		21	39	53.8	241	2	0
Missouri	Nebraska Cornhuskers		13	21	61.9	208	2	0
Texas A&M	Nebraska Cornhuskers		21	35	60.0	267	2	1
Colorado	Nebraska Cornhuskers		19	28	67.9	249	2	0
Oklahoma	Nebraska Cornhuskers		23	50	46.0	282	1	3
Auburn	Nebraska Cornhuskers		14	26	53.8	126	0	1
	Totals		233	391	59.6	3197	25	8

External links

• Nebraska bio