After having a tough time finding consistency at the quarterback position last year, head coach Beau Baldwin announced Troy Taylor has been hired as the new quarterback’s coach and passing game coordinator.

“We’re excited to have Troy within our program, and we’re excited for what he brings,” said Baldwin. “He’s a coach I believe can fit really well into what we are already doing, but he can bring a lot of new ideas and freshness to improve upon the things we’ve previously accomplished. His teams have consistently performed at a high level for a long time.”

Taylor spent the last three seasons as the co-head coach at Folsom High School near Sacramento, California, and held that position from 2002-2004. He was an assistant coach at University of California, Berkeley (Cal) from 1996-2000 after playing there as the quarterback from 1986-89. Taylor also worked as a radio analyst for Cal from 2005-2011.

He finished his college career as Cal’s all-time leader with 8,126 passing yards, a record broken this past season by quarterback Jared Goff. After his playing career at Cal, Taylor was drafted by the New York Jets, where he played from 1990-1992.
As a coach at Folsom High School, Taylor led the team to a 58-3 record while also coaching the current University of Washington quarterback Jake Browning and taking the team to the 2014 CIF State Division I title.

“I’m excited, ready for a new challenge, and it seems like a unique fit,” Taylor said in an interview with the Sacramento Bee, a local newspaper in Sacramento, California.

Baldwin said he is excited to have a new coach added to the staff and looks forward to what Taylor’s new ideas can bring to the team.

“When I really sat down and spent some time with him, it took me to another level in how I thought he would fit at Eastern Washington and what we are doing,” said Baldwin. “We know he will truly bring some new, fresh and innovative ideas, and make us a lot better today than where we were yesterday.”

Taylor said he is optimistic about his new role at EWU and is ready to get in there and get started.

“I’ve followed EWU for a while, they have a great reputation and a great staff,” said Taylor. “I’ve had a lot of good quarterbacks. I think working with all those guys, the benefits from that has been being able to create a system personal enough to have simplicity and to be user-friendly. The expectations are day to day — I don’t look too far ahead. Obviously there is an expectation to win but the focus is on day to day improvement.”