Troy Taylor has been hired as the Quarterbacks coach for the Virginia Union football program and Bill Holt will be taking over as the Offensive Line coach for the Panthers.
Coach Taylor is the former head coach at Meadowbrook HS; one of the winningest and most well respected programs in the state of Virginia. He holds the All-time highest winning percentage in the over 50-year history of the high school. Taylor has been recognized on multiple occasions as Coach of the Year.
This season will be Taylor's 16th season of coaching football after having spent one season as an assistant coach at Lloyd C. Bird HS (2000), seven season seasons as an assistant coach at Meadowbrook (VA) HS (2001-2007), one season as the head football coach at Amelia County (VA) HS (2008), and six seasons as the head coach at Meadowbrook (VA) HS (2009-2014).
Coach Taylor's overall record as a head high school football coach was 49-24. He was named 2012 Central District Coach of the Year, 2011 Touchdown Club of Richmond Coach of the Year, and 2010 Central District Coach of the Year. Coach Taylor in his time as a high school coach sent over 70 players to play collegiate football. Three of his players went on to play professional football- Morgan Moses OL (UVA/Redskins) and Brandian Ross DB (Youngstown State/Raiders), John Graves DL (VT/Texans).
As a Quarterback coach he has coached three 1st Team Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro Quarterbacks- Rodney Nichols (Louisburg College), Andre Coble (JMU), and Gerard Johnson (ODU). Three of his Quarterbacks signed Division I scholarships. Coach Taylor was the Quarterback coach on the 2004 Division 5 State Championship Team at Meadowbrook HS. During his coaching career he has coached the Offensive Line, Quarterbacks, Defensive Line, and Linebackers. He has also been an Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator.
Taylor is from Chesterfield, VA. He also has a twin brother; Tony who is a teacher and high school football coach. Coach Taylor is a graduate of Lloyd C. Bird (VA) HS (1996) where he was a two-year letterman in football for the Skyhawks.
He earned his bachelor's degree in History and minored in Political Science at UVA-Wise (2000). He was a member of the Highland Cavaliers' football team. Coach Taylor also started and organized the biggest one day Football Coaches Clinic in the Mid-Atlantic region while coaching at Meadowbrook HS. Coach Taylor is married to Lindsay Taylor and they have one child, Jackson.
Holt is no stranger to the CIAA. He comes to Virginia Union University by way of Elizabeth City State University, where for the past 8 years his units were regarded as some of the most productive Offensive Lines in the conference. During that time he produced 3 All Americans and 12 All CIAA Linemen. Elizabeth City had 8 straight winning seasons while he was there, produced four 1,000 yard rushers and 1 All American Running Back in Daronte McNeil, who holds all of the ECSU rushing and scoring records. McNeil is also the leading all-time rusher in the CIAA. Holt's units were also listed in the top two every year for sacks against. He has sent numerous players to the NFL including most recently Julius Franklin (New York Giants), Alex Santos (Washington Redskins) and Anthony Fielding (Dallas Cowboys).
Before taking the offensive line job at ECSU, Coach Holt served as offensive coordinator at Chowan University for 2 years. He has written and published articles in American Football Coaches Association and X's and O's publications. He has also been a guest speaker for Nike Football Coach of the Year Clinics throughout the east coast. He has been a Head High school coach at Granby High School in Norfolk, VA, where he was Coach of the Year; Colonial High School in Orlando, FL, where he was Coach of the Year; Eustis High School in Eustis, FL; and Jeb Stuart High School in Fairfax, VA. He has also served as Head Coach for two professional teams – the Chesapeake Bay Neptunes, where he was Coach of the Year in the Continental Football League; and for the Tidewater Sharks in Norfolk, VA, where he was Coach of the Year in the Mason-Dixon Football Conference. In 1998 he was the Head Coach for the East in the East-West All Star Football game in Orlando, FL. In addition to his coaching experience, Coach Holt has served as an Assistant Coach at Stonewall Jackson High School, Booker T. Washington High School, I.C. Norcom High School and Granby High School.
He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corp. He holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Physical Education and teaching certificates in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. He is married to Dr. Jean Holt and has 2 daughters, Holly and Kirsten. He played his college football at Appalachian State University under Coach Jim Messere, where he was an offensive guard.
