Taylor Mays Joins UW Football Staff As Safeties Coach
January 16, 2025 | Football
Former three-time All-American safety and NFL veteran Taylor Mays has joined the Washington football coaching staff as safeties coach, head coach Jedd Fisch announced today.
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Mays comes to Washington from his alma mater, USC, where he has served on the football staff for three seasons, most recently as assistant defensive backs coach.
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"I'm thrilled to be bringing one of the state of Washington's greatest football players back home," Fisch said. "Taylor Mays' experience in college and in the NFL will bring tremendous value to the 'Be a Pro' philosophy of the Husky Football program."
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A graduate of Seattle's O'Dea High School, Mays earned first-team All-America honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009 at USC, having been named second-team All-America and Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the year in 2006. He was a member of three Pac-10 champion teams (2006-08) and won the Rose Bowl in each of his first three college seasons. He started 50 of a possible 51 games over his four-year college career.
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The son of former UW and nine-year NFL defensive lineman Stafford Mays, Taylor was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played the 2010 season in San Francisco before spending the next four years with the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by one more with the Oakland Raiders.
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In 2022, Mays joined the USC staff as a defensive analyst. In preparation for the Trojans' 2023 bowl game, he served as interim safeties coach, helping the Trojans to a 42-28 win over No. 15 Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
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Mays comes to Washington from his alma mater, USC, where he has served on the football staff for three seasons, most recently as assistant defensive backs coach.
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"I'm thrilled to be bringing one of the state of Washington's greatest football players back home," Fisch said. "Taylor Mays' experience in college and in the NFL will bring tremendous value to the 'Be a Pro' philosophy of the Husky Football program."
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A graduate of Seattle's O'Dea High School, Mays earned first-team All-America honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009 at USC, having been named second-team All-America and Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the year in 2006. He was a member of three Pac-10 champion teams (2006-08) and won the Rose Bowl in each of his first three college seasons. He started 50 of a possible 51 games over his four-year college career.
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The son of former UW and nine-year NFL defensive lineman Stafford Mays, Taylor was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played the 2010 season in San Francisco before spending the next four years with the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by one more with the Oakland Raiders.
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In 2022, Mays joined the USC staff as a defensive analyst. In preparation for the Trojans' 2023 bowl game, he served as interim safeties coach, helping the Trojans to a 42-28 win over No. 15 Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
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