Texas Southern University mourns the passing of former head football coach Lionel Taylor

Taylor, 89, served as Texas Southern’s head coach from 1984-88 and is credited with rewriting the history books as his teams set numerous offensive records. Taylor also served as the first Texas Southern coach to participate in the Labor Day Classic (1985). 

Prior to TSU, Taylor spent several years at Oregon State as its wide receivers coach. He became the first African-American coordinator in the NFL when he was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. In all, he compiled nearly 20 years of NFL coaching experience as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns while serving as head coach of the England Monarchs in 1998 of NFL Europe. 

A highly decorated player on the gridiron, Taylor was a record-breaking wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) from 1960-68 and spent one year in the NFL as a linebacker (1959) before transitioning to the offensive side of the ball. He retired as a player after the 1968 season, which was his second season with the Houston Oilers.