Monday, January 07, 2008

A New Day for Hampton football


Dear Coach Taylor,

Wow. It is sad to see you go. My four years at Hampton were great. The best four years of my life. Not just because of the academics and the friends and the plethora of beautiful women walking the campus, but also because you could always count on the Pirates whooping somebody’s behind. Sitting or standing in the bleachers listening to THE FORCE or yelling “Shake Deez!” was all the more fun because the team was winning.


I was only there from 1997 to 2001, but the 1997 season saw us win our first MEAC title, also earning the Pirates their first bid to the I-AA playoffs with a 10-2 record. We were also crowned SBN National Champions for the second time in four years. In 1998, Hampton repeated as MEAC Champions and made our second consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs.

The fact that you were so good at keeping us on top for so long makes me apprehensive about the future. In 16 years you went 136-49-1 and guided the Pirates to four Black College Championships, eight conference titles, a Heritage Bowl Championship and seven trips to the NCAA playoffs.

I understand the need for new challenges. The need to start over someplace else. It is one thing to build your legacy as the great Hampton University football coach. You are already the winningest coach in HU history. It is another to want to leave your legacy as one of the great all-time college coaches period. You can get bored doing the same thing at the same place for too long. Five years at the same place and I’m ready to leave. .

Then again, this year wasn’t the greatest. We really underachieved for the first time in 5 years. The team was a lot better than their 5-4 record in the MEAC would suggest. We also never made it past the first round of the playoffs and we were playing at home. The two games that I’m thinking about (against University of Richmond and University of New Hampshire) you played not to lose, and both times it came back and bit us in the ass. I hated that about you. I was so tired of being just the MEAC Champions. Why couldn’t we be Division I-AA National Champions? That year we lost to New Hampshire, we had them. WE HAD THEM!! And we let them slip by.

So maybe it is time for a new coach. What are we to make of this new coach (Jerry Holmes) that we have? It sounds like he is a good guy. He’s been at Hampton twice as an assistant. His last stint started in 2004. You promoted him to defensive coordinator in 2005, when we went 11-0 during the regular season and led Division I-AA in scoring defense. We are returning 14 offensive and defensive starters next season so there should be no drop off in play.

So I wish you all the best. I know the Florida A&M football program has come on some rough times and it is going to be awhile before they are good again. Honestly, you are the perfect coach to rebuild their program. I will be rooting for you (unless you are playing Hampton). One more thing….I realize that 16 years is a long time, and you need a new challenge, but why are you leaving to go to FAMU? Our conference rivals? You could at least have moved to a new conference. Oh well…. at least it ain’t Howard.

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