By Stephen J. Gaither
Former South Carolina State University player and coach Joel Taylor has been named head football coach at West Georgia.
Taylor, who most recently served as defensive coordinator at Mercer, was introduced as West Georgia head coach on Tuesday.
“Coach Joel Taylor possesses all the qualities necessary to be an incredibly successful head coach at our level. We are thrilled to have Joel and his wife, Mechelle, join us here. He is a brilliant coach, extremely driven, incredibly focused, and a remarkable leader of young people,” West Georgia AD Jason Carmichael said in a release. “Coach Taylor will be someone fans of UWG Football and supporters of the University of West Georgia can rally around. His capacity to be both strategic and relentless at the same time will inspire not only his players and staff but the broader West Georgia community.” Taylor will become the first coach at West Georgia at the Division I level, as UWG is moving to the FCS.
Taylor was one of the last players at South Carolina State University to play for Willie Jeffries and one of the first to play for Buddy Pough as he was on the field from 2001 through 2004. After helping the team win a share of the 2004 MEAC title he joined the coaching staff at his alma mater.
He joined the coaching staff the following season, staying there before a one-year stint at Lenoir-Rhyne. He rejoined the staff at SC State in 2010 and helped the the program win another MEAC title that season as well as 2013.
Taylor spent the next five years as defensive backs coach at The Citadel before returning to Lenoir-Rhyne as defensive coordinator for one season. One his defensive backs was Kyle Dugger, who was drafted by the New England Patriots. He then moved up to the FCS level, joining the same role at Mercer. His 2022 team ranked 17th nationally in yards per play allowed and gave up just 22.1 points per game and led the FCS with 17 interceptions and gave up a conference-low 28 touchdowns over the course of the season.