WACO, Texas — Widely regarded as one of the nation’s best coaches in college football, William & Mary offensive coordinator Christian Taylor has been selected as the 2023 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Assistant Coach of the Year.
Chosen by the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Committee, the award honors coaches who excel in community service, commitment to the student-athlete, on-field coaching success and AFCA professional organization involvement.
Since beginning his coaching career at W&M in 2008, Taylor has positively impacted numerous programs across the nation as an assistant coach and coordinator. En route to helping lead his programs to multiple NCAA Playoff appearances, including a trip to the semifinals, he mentored 10 All-Americans, four Walter Payton Award Finalists and 24 all-conference standouts — highlighted by at least one first-team all-league selection every year.
Highlighting those who benefited from his tutelage are 12 standouts who signed with NFL teams, including a pair of players who were selected in last year’s NFL Draft — Colby Sorsdal (Detroit Lions) and Dalton Kincaid (Buffalo Bills).
Since returning to W&M as offensive coordinator in 2020, the Tribe has established itself among the country’s top programs. En route to posting three consecutive winning seasons, W&M earned a national ranking during all three campaigns. Highlighting the recent run was the record-breaking 2022 season in which W&M equaled a school record with 11 victories, won a share of the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals as the nation’s No. 5 seed. Helping propel W&M to the success was a fundamentally sound, explosive and creative offensive system that ranked among the country’s best in passing efficiency, yards per play, explosive runs, passing yards per attempt and rushing yards per carry. In total, W&M ranked among the nation’s top 10 in 13 offensive statistical categories.
Honored as a finalist for the 2018 FCS Coordinator of the Year Award, Taylor led one of the nation’s most productive offensive units at the University of San Diego from 2018-19. Under Taylor’s direction, USD ranked among the nation’s top 10 in scoring offense (10th in 2018; 5th in 2019) and was sixth in total offense in 2019. Additionally, the Toreors ranked second nationally in passing offense in 2018 and 11th in 2019, as they earned earn a pair of conference championships and FCS Playoff berths.
That success led to numerous individual accolades for his players, as he produced a pair of Walter Payton Award finalists at quarterback – Anthony Lawrence and Reid Sinnett – and another at wide receiver, Michael Bandy.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks as an assistant at W&M in 2008, Taylor earned a pair of varsity letters as a quarterback for the Tribe as well as a degree in kinesiology. He was a four-year member of the team’s travel squad and a part of the 2004 team that advanced to the FCS Playoff semifinals.
