Long-time Hampton University head football coach Joseph Taylor has announced his intentions to leave the University and to accept an offer to coach at another university, according Lonza Hardy Jr., Hampton University’s Director of Athletics.
Hardy said Taylor indicated to him late last week that he had another offer on the table and that he had decided to accept that offer. It is expected that the coach will make an official announcement of his new position on Monday.
Taylor, the all-time winningest coach in the history of HU football, said his decision to leave the program that he steered into national prominence was a difficult one to make but one that afforded him the opportunity to take on a new challenge.
“When I look back over my 16 years at Hampton University, I have nothing but fond memories,” said Taylor. “The leadership of the University has treated me well. The staff, the alumni and the players who played for me all treated me like I was a member of their family. Everything that I accomplished here was because of their loyal support of Hampton University in general and of me personally.”
Taylor leaves Hampton after compiling a record of 136-49-1, ranking him among the winningest active coaches in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision (formerly called Division I-AA). His teams at HU captured three CIAA championships and five MEAC championships. Since Hampton left the CIAA and Division II, the Pirates, under the guidance of Taylor, competed in the NCAA playoffs a total of five times. Overall as a head coach, including stints at Howard University and Virginia Union University, Taylor’s career record is 197-78-4.
“Coach Taylor is a man of great character,” said HU president Dr. William R. Harvey. “One of the many reasons I have enjoyed working with Coach Taylor over the years is because of his positive leadership. He won many games for us here at Hampton, but the true measure of Coach Taylor’s success here has been the affect he has had on the young men who played for him. He has been a positive role model for hundreds of young men. He has been a true ambassador for Hampton University.”
Lonza Hardy Jr., who last July assumed the athletics director’s role that Taylor held the previous two years, said everyone hates to see Taylor leave but wishes him well.
“Even before I joined the staff here at Hampton University, I knew of the outstanding program that Coach Taylor had built,” said Hardy. “Working with him on a first-hand basis the past five months has been a pleasure. He is a consummate professional, both on and off the field. We all wish him continued success in his career.”
Hampton University officials have indicated that defensive coordinator Jerry Holmes has been tapped to replace Taylor as head coach of the Pirates.
Holmes, a Newport News, Va. native and West Virginia University graduate, has an impressive vita that includes 10 years as a player in the NFL, four years as an assistant coach at his alma mater and seven years as an assistant coach at Hampton University. He also has seven years of coaching experience on the professional level, including stints as defensive secondary coach with the San Diego Chargers (2002-03), the Washington Redskins (2001) and the Cleveland Browns (1999-2000).
“Everywhere Coach Holmes has been, he’s enjoyed a high level of success,” said Hardy. “He has a very good relationship with our student-athletes and the staff alike. He is the ideal coach to bring continuity to our program.”
Holmes played football at Bethel High School in Hampton, graduating in 1976. He then attended Chowan Junior College in Murfreesboro, N.C., where he received an associate’s degree in Business Administration in 1977. He later journeyed to Morgantown, West Virginia, graduating in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Holmes has done further studies towards an M.B.A. degree at Long Island University and Hampton University.
During his NFL playing career, Holmes enjoyed success with three NFL teams, including the New York Jets (1980-83 and 1986-87), the Detroit Lions (1988-89) and the Green Bay Packers (1990-91). He later was a two-time all-star selectee during a two-year stint in the USFL with the Pittsburgh Maulers (1984) and the New Jersey Generals (1985).
Dr. Harvey called Holmes “the ideal man” to replace Taylor at the helm of the HU Pirates.
“Jerry Holmes, just like Coach Taylor, is a man with high morals and ingenuity on the football field. His impressive resume’ speaks for itself,” said Dr. Harvey. “When Coach Taylor told us that he was leaving, we didn’t have to look far to find a very qualified replacement. That individual was on the staff already.”
A press conference to officially introduce Holmes as Hampton’s new head coach is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 3, 2008. The press conference will be held in the Team Meeting Room of the Armstrong Stadium Football Office Complex on the HU campus.