New WMU football coach Taylor vows to build an 'elite championship program'

With the school band, cheerleaders and even Buster Bronco brought in for the occasion at Heritage Hall on the Western Michigan campus, it had all the earmarks of a pep rally to celebrate a championship season.

It wasn't. But WMU officials hope the reason for the full house is going to lead to championship seasons in the future. At least that was the message relayed by WMU Director of Athletics Dan Bartholomae when he introduced new head football coach Lance Taylor on Friday.

"I will tell you all, it is a great day, an historic day to be a Bronco and I am thrilled to be introducing you all to coach Lance Taylor," Bartholomae said. "(I was) asked what do you want people to see when you are talking and introducing Coach Taylor, and I said championship trophies, because that's the vision, that's what possible and that's where we are going.

"Lance Taylor is a champion, he's a champion as an athlete and a coach, a man who has won conference championships, has coached in the college football playoff. Lance puts championship efforts into everything he does."

WMU announced the hiring of Taylor as the 17th coach in program history on Thursday and introduced him to the public on Friday.

What was presented was a 41-year-old coach with a championship pedigree, having earned his experience as an assistant coach at stops at Notre Dame, Alabama and most recently as the offensive coordinator at Louisville.

And Taylor embraced the expectations that come with the new hire.

"I am humbled, honored and excited to be the head football coach of Western Michigan University," Taylor said. "I am committed to building an elite championship program. I will not shy away from high goals and lofty expectations."

While Taylor was at Louisville, the Cardinals went 7-5 in 2022 and are scheduled to play in the Fenway Bowl vs. Cincinnati on Dec. 17.

Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Taylor spent three seasons as the running backs coach and run game coordinator at Notre Dame, helping guide the Fighting Irish to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2020 and a New Year’s Six Fiesta Bowl appearance in 2021.

Taylor replaces former WMU coach Tim Lester, who was fired after suffering his first losing season in six years leading the Broncos. Lester led WMU to a bowl win in 2021, only the second in school history, and was given a contract extension before last season.

Lester came in as a replacement to P.J. Fleck, who took the Bronco program to heights it had never reached previously as WMU went undefeated in the regular season in 2016 and played in the Cotton Bowl.

"Having watching this program from afar, seeing an undefeated season, seeing them chase after a championship, go to a Cotton Bowl, those are all the things that are expected and the expectations here are to win,," Taylor said. "I wanted to go to a place where people want to win and expect to win and those are the things that excited me about this.

"With the college football playoffs expanding ... our goals will absolutely be to play for a MAC championship, to win a MAC championship and to play in the college football playoff. ... But what we do every day will determine whether we play in the playoffs, so the work starts daily to develop those championship habits."

As Bartholomae was introducing his new coach, he talked about the search process and how it was a quick turnaround from the time Lester was fired to when Taylor was hired.

"Football searches are fast and furious. In a football search, every second matters, new jobs open, the transfer portal looms large and the dynamics change hourly," Bartholomae said. "What never changed is where Coach Taylor sat on that list. Knowing he was out west, I chased him out there and after two days of interviews, it was clear as day who our next coach should be and I can tell you I wasn't getting on a plane back home until we nailed down terms ... and I have been smiling ever since."

What is next for Taylor is a shortened recruiting cycle, the first National Signing Day coming soon, an offseason to get to know his new team and a Sept. 9, 2023 date at Syracuse as his first official game leading the Broncos. He said he is nervous and excited about the opportunity, but he added that he also believes he is ready for this step.

"My first time being a head coach, I didn't want to take just any job, I wanted to take the right job," Taylor said. "I know I was being evaluated and being interviewed during the process, but I was also evaluating and interviewing. Everything I saw in Dan, the current roster, to what they have done on the field in the past excited me to what I can be here and what can be."

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: New WMU football coach Taylor vows to build 'elite championship program'