Mercer introduces Joel Taylor as 22nd head coach in football program history
Taylor was the Bears Defensive Coordinator from 2020-2023
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Mercer University introduced Joel Taylor as the Bears’ 22nd head football coach on Wednesday, bringing a 21-year collegiate coaching career back to Macon.
Taylor, whose hiring was announced on December 11, returns to Mercer after serving as the Bears’ defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2023. He most recently led West Georgia through its transition to the NCAA Division I FCS level, guiding the Wolves to 12 wins over their first two seasons in the subdivision. He is coming off an eight-win campaign that earned him United Athletic Conference and American Football Coaches Association Region 3 coach of the year honors.
After the introduction, Taylor spoke with 41NBC’s Justin Dierkes about his excitement to return home.
“This has been a great journey,” he said. “Like I said, going to West Georgia, them giving me an opportunity to learn and to have success there, and bring that back here. I’m excited for our fans. I’m excited about just being back in middle Georgia, because we are middle Georgia’s team. I’m excited about the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs and have an opportunity to win it, and we’re just gonna work our fans off. We have a tough, hard disciplined team that’s gonna be physical at a point of contact, and we gotta beat them, damn the coach.”
At West Georgia, Taylor oversaw a team that averaged more than 355 yards of total offense per game while allowing just 122.9 rushing yards and 21.2 points per contest. The Wolves doubled their win total from his first season at the helm, opened the year with five straight victories and climbed as high as No. 16 in the national polls. The run included wins over Southern Conference opponents Samford and East Tennessee State and a 34-10 road victory against then-No. 22 Nicholls.
Taylor previously helped build one of the Southern Conference’s top defenses at Mercer. From 2020-23, the Bears posted 28 wins and reached the NCAA FCS playoffs for the first time in program history in 2023. Mercer allowed 142.1 rushing yards and 24.7 points per game over 45 contests with Taylor coordinating the defense, finishing among the nation’s leaders in total defense in 2021 and 2022. The 2022 Bears led all FCS teams with 17 interceptions.
Defensive success has marked Taylor’s career at multiple stops. In 2019 at Lenoir-Rhyne, he directed a Division II defense that led the nation with 50 sacks, forced 31 turnovers and held opponents to 17.4 points per game. That team went 13-1 and reached the NCAA quarterfinals, falling by five points to eventual national champion West Florida.
Taylor also spent five seasons on the staff at The Citadel from 2014-18 as defensive backs coach. The Bulldogs went 29-19 during that span, winning back-to-back Southern Conference championships in 2015 and 2016 and making consecutive playoff appearances. The 2016 Citadel defense intercepted 20 passes, ranking third nationally in the FCS.
A graduate of South Carolina State, Taylor began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in 2005 and 2006 before serving as defensive backs coach from 2007-08 and again from 2010-13. He was part of three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship teams and three NCAA playoff appearances with the Bulldogs. He also coached at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2009.
As a player, Taylor was a four-year letterwinner and team captain at South Carolina State from 2001-04, earning defensive most valuable player honors as a senior. He was a starter on the 2003 Bulldog team that led the nation in pass efficiency defense.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Taylor was raised in Irmo, South Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from South Carolina State in 2004 and a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling in 2008. He and his wife, Mechelle, will return to the Mercer community.
