The three-time defending MEAC Coach the Year, Joseph Taylor is entering into his 16th season at the helm of the Pirates’ football program and his 25th season overall as a head coach. Taylor, who also serves as Hampton’s Director of Athletics, continues to show that while offensive strategies and defensive schemes can win games, true professionalism and great work ethic are the foundation for successful programs.
The winningest coach in Hampton University football history, Taylor has reached peaks never before seen by the Pirate program. Since his arrival, he has guided the Pirates to four Black College Championships, eight conference titles, a Heritage Bowl Championship and seven trips to the NCAA playoffs. As overseer of the Pirates Taylor has compiled a 15-year record of 130-44-1. His career mark of 191-73-4 (.713) places him on the national level as the third winningest active coach in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) when ranked by total victories and fifth when ranked by winning percentage.
Coach Taylor’s hard work, determination and commitment to excellence have made him a pioneer amongst his peers as evident by his multiple leadership positions. A member of the Board of Directors for the Black Coaches Association, Taylor was most recently recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of four finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award. The 2001 President of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), he is the chairman the AFCA Minority Issues Committee and the Board of Directors of the American Football Coaches Foundation. In addition, Taylor also acts as a member of both the Advisory Board for the Wilson Sporting Goods Corporation and the Division I FCS All-American Selection Committee. He has been selected as the Coach of the Year by several professional organizations such as the Washington, D.C. Pigskin Club, the Norfolk Sports Club, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Atlanta, Florida and Richmond Touchdown Clubs. In 2000 Taylor was honored with the Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award by the All-American Football Foundation and a year later he was inducted into the Western Illinois University Hall of Fame. His community involvement has also been plentiful, currently serving on the Citizens Unity Commission, a subsidiary of the Hampton City Council.
Taylor began his professional career as a physical education instructor with the District of Columbia school system. He also served as an assistant football coach at H.D. Woodson High School where he helped the program win two city championships. In addition, as the head wrestling coach his teams won four consecutive city championships. Taylor also served as an assistant baseball coach on a team that won three city championships.
His collegiate career began as offensive line coach at Eastern Illinois in 1978. That same season the Panthers captured the Division II National Championship.
In 1980 he moved on to become the offensive coordinator at Virginia Union University and served in that capacity for two years. In 1982 he joined the Howard University staff as the defensive coordinator and was named head coach the following season.
Taylor returned to Virginia Union as head coach in 1984, guiding the Panthers to an undefeated regular season and a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championship in just three short years.
He continued his winning ways when he joined the Hampton University family in 1992, leading the Pirates to three consecutive CIAA titles and two consecutive NCAA playoff appearances.
In 1993 Taylor led the Pirates to an undefeated regular season and the quarterfinal round of the national playoffs, becoming the first CIAA team in history to win 12 games in a season, finishing the year with an overall mark of 12-1.
In their last season of Division II competition, the 1994 Pirates added yet another milestone with a 10-1 finish and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network’s (SBN) Jake Gaither Trophy, the prestigious honor recognizing the Historical Black College National Champion. The 1994 Pirates also broke the CIAA total offense record with 5,575 yards, becoming the first CIAA team to finish the season averaging more than 500 yards of total offense per game. Hampton dominated its final seven opponents as the Pirates averaged 54.2 points per game while limiting their opposition to a mere 14.2 points per game, extending their CIAA winning streak to 23 games. The Pirates were recognized as the NCAA Division II statistical champion for scoring offense (46.4 ppg) and rushing defense (66.0 ypg).
Debuting in the Division I FCS and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 1995, the Pirates faced just four conference opponents, finishing 3-1 in those contests. They led the MEAC in both total offense (396.3 ypg) and total defense (122.3 ypg). Led by Coach Taylor the Pirates finished their first season of Division I FCS competition with an impressive 8-3 record.
The 1997 season saw Hampton win its first MEAC title, also earning the Pirates their first bid to the I-AA playoffs with a 10-2 record. The Pirates were also crowned SBN National Champions for the second time in four years. In 1998 Hampton repeated as MEAC Champions and made its second consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs. The 2004 season saw Hampton climb back atop the MEAC standings thanks to an astonishing defense and solid offensive and special teams play. The Pirate defense led the country in turnovers forced with 43, while they also led the FCS in kickoff return average as Jerome Mathis set a national record with five kickoff returns for touchdowns. Offensively, Hampton featured the second highest scoring unit in the nation at better than 43 points per game, including four 50-point efforts. The Pirates continued their championship ways in 2005 and 2006, becoming the first team in more than 20 years to capture three consecutive MEAC titles.
Taylor, a 1972 graduate of Western Illinois University and a native of Washington, D.C. is married to the former Beverly Richardson and they are the proud parents of Aaron Joseph (27) and Dennis Anthony (23).
