-
Pete ThamelESPN
Louisville has hired Notre Dame assistant coach Lance Taylor as its new offensive coordinator.
Taylor is the run game coordinator and running backs coach at Notre Dame, where he overhauled the Irish’s running backs room during his three seasons there. Taylor also brings extensive experience coaching wide receivers, as he spent two seasons in that role with the Carolina Panthers, coaching players such as DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel.
“Lance possesses all the qualities I look for when hiring an offensive coordinator,” Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said in a statement Sunday. “His experience and knowledge allows me to oversee all aspects of our program and brings a wealth of ideas to our offensive staff.”
Taylor previously coached the running backs at Stanford from 2014 to 2016, where the Cardinal had one of the country’s best running backs rooms. That included tutoring Christian McCaffrey and recruiting and mentoring Bryce Love. McCaffrey finished second in the Heisman Trophy race in 2015 during Taylor’s time there, and Love developed into one of the top backs in school history.
Louisville didn’t have an offensive coordinator last season, and the hiring of Taylor is viewed as a way to further bolster an offense that finished No. 21 nationally last season (446 yards per game). The return of talented quarterback Malik Cunningham also raises expectations for the Cardinals, who went 6-7 in 2021.
During Taylor’s time at Notre Dame, he coached star tailback Kyren Williams to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Tony Jones Jr. of the Saints also developed into an NFL back at Notre Dame under Taylor, who also landed top recruits Chris Tyree and Logan Diggs.
Taylor has emerged as a head coaching candidate in recent seasons, interviewing for multiple Group of 5 jobs the past two years.