A native of Georgia, Taylor completed his undergraduate degree at Jacksonville State University in 1974 and earned a master’s degree from Jacksonville State in 1981. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he immediately began a teaching and coaching career that lasted 30 years. Taylor was a successful assistant coach in football, most often as a defensive coordinator. As a head baseball coach, his teams were 201-130 and he was Calhoun County’s baseball coach of the year in 1996.

Taylor had his greatest coaching successes as wrestling coach. At Wellborn, he coached two teams to Calhoun County wrestling championships.

Taylor then became head wrestling coach at Weaver. His Weaver teams were state champions nine times, winning Class 1A-4A titles in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Three other Bearcat teams finished as state runner-up. Taylor’s Weaver teams were Calhoun County champions 10 consecutive years.

During Taylor’s tenure at Weaver, his teams had dual match winning streaks of 221 matches and 111 matches. Taylor was named Alabama’s 1A-4A wrestling coach of the year nine times. In 1996 and again in 2004, USA Wrestling named Taylor coach of the year in Alabama. In 1996, he was USA Wrestling’s coach of the year for the southeastern United States.

Fifty-five of Taylor’s wrestlers won individual state championships and eight were named high school All-Americans. His career record as a head wrestling coach was 500-34. At Weaver, Taylor’s teams were 385-11 in dual meets.

In 2010, Taylor was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame.