6 Takeaways of David Taylor's Introductory Press Conference

It’s official. The David Taylor era has begun in Stillwater, Oklahoma as he addressed a full press room that included his future wrestlers, the media, Cowboy fans, and alumni.
 
Taylor spoke about the importance of family as he spoke of his mom, dad and wife along with the things he wants to bring to the Oklahoma State wrestling program.

If you missed it, you can watch the full press conference here.
 
1. Will he continue to compete?
After wondering what Taylor would do since leaving the mat after losing to Aaron Brooks in the Olympic Trials finals a few weeks ago, we now have our answer. The Magic Man’s competitive career has come to an end. Taylor spoke to making the decision and how “it was tough to continue” competing after winning Olympic gold in 2021. He mentioned that he felt the desire dwindling and after a lot of thought, tears, and contemplation he believed it was the right time to move on to the next chapter, which is now becoming the head coach of the Cowboys. He also included his new assistant coach Thomas Gilman when speaking of how they both are now done competing.
 
2. What brought Taylor to Stillwater?
The right situation, with the right resources, and a program that can win. That was the formula for bringing Taylor to Stillwater, OK. He and Director of Athletics Chad Weiberg spoke about the opportunity of taking over and that he was incredibly honored just to be mentioned for the job. Ultimately, the support of the athletic department along with Paycom CEO Chad Richison and the formula Taylor feels he can succeed with is what got the job done.
 
3. What’s the David Taylor program?
When it came to the wrestling program, Taylor brought the same outlook that we’ve heard from him as a competitor as well as his former coach, Cael Sanderson, at Penn State – score points and have fun. It’s that approach that many believed Taylor would be bringing with him from the perennial championship program in State College, PA he was a part of as a collegiate champion. Taylor also spoke to the impact that Sanderson and his high school coach, Jeff Jordan, had on him when it came to creating his own philosophy and what he looks to bring to the Cowboys.
 
4. RTC Outlook
On the RTC side of things, he said that the “first order of business” was making sure that Daton Fix was staying to train at the Cowboy RTC. Taylor said that he and Fix sat down and talked and made sure that the now former Cowboy multiple-time NCAA finalist and All-American wasn't going anywhere. Furthermore, he said that there will be a "grass roots approach" to things that expands beyond the college and international level and down to the youth because while he wants to raise the bar for wrestling at Oklahoma State he also wants to raise the bar for wrestling in the state of Oklahoma.

5. Coaching Staff
There have already been 2 hires to the staff as Jimmy Kennedy will be Taylor's Associate Head Coach and Thomas Gilman will be an Assistant. When it came to who else would be joining the staff, Taylor mentioned that they are still figuring that out and that there could be more additional coaches coming. With Tyler Caldwell sticking around right now to train the team until things get settled, you wonder if he will remain on staff in some role moving forward.
 
6. Timeline
There is a lot of moving parts and things to figure out when it comes to moving his family from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma along with many other things, but he stressed the importance of getting into the room to help his guys prepare for the upcoming U20 and U23 trials. In the interim, Tyler Caldwell, who was an assistant on John Smith’s staff, will be filling in to keep things moving and help the guys prepare, along with Daton Fix, who is remaining with the RTC.