Washington, DC - Coach Eric Taylor formerly of the Dillion Panthers, the East Dillion Lions and most recently of the Pemberton Pioneers in Philadelphia grows tired of his roles in the US Government and often misses coaching.
In an air-conditioned office on Capitol Hill, he sits in a plush, red leather chair usually reserved for Chief Justices in the US Supreme Court. Eric Taylor is on the phone, his fourth call of the morning. This time he's talking to the President's Press Secretary about talking points for a speech he will give later today about the life cycles of clandestine agents in the field for a Georgetown Law seminar. He claims he's not tired and his voice's enthusiasm is in accordance, but his eyes tell a different story.
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| Coach Taylor with the Lions |
"US politics and policy are much different than Texas football," he says with a small grin. "I miss those boys. I miss the two-a-days and I miss state titles."
Coach Taylor is one of the most prolific coaches in all of high school football with a record of 48-16, four playoff appearances, three state title appearances and two state titles.
Texas forever, right?
After his wife, Mrs. Coach, took the position of Dean of Admissions at Braemore College in Philadelphia, Coach Taylor's interest in politics grew. Being in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed probably helped a little bit.
"I was running a football youth camp with my assistant coaches and it was raining and snowing and it was cold; nothing like a Texas training camp, but that's a different story. I was getting tired of grinding my gears with knucklehead football players. I just decided that I wanted to try out politics and ask grown men if they understood me. Plus, I could give 'em an ass kicking and not have to worry about the PTA," Taylor explains.
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| Coach Taylor with intelligence agents |
So when the opportunity for a station chief for the CIA opened up, Coach Taylor pounced on the possibility. He was moved out to an undisclosed location, and had to be without his wife and two daughters for a bit, but he made it back wiser, stronger, and hungrier for more.
"I learned so much from the educated operators and agents. But, I felt that coaching gave me a lot of perspective on leadership, too. There was no Matt Saracen to quarterback anything, and no Tim Riggins to help lead the charge, but we did have a lot of guys that reminded me of Vince Howard in their ability to improvise on the go. Instead of running wheel routes with an audible for a 'play-action skinny post one-two, one-two, alert alert system go' we'd run things like 'Get that fucking asshole and make him give us information, now.' So, clearly, it was different but kind of the same.
"But, I didn't want to be away from Mrs. Taylor, Julie and Gracie Belle so much of the year. I missed them a lot, so I went into a domestic job as Chief of Staff to the President. It's a lot smoother, and I can visit my wife at the college on weekends, or we head out to Chicago to visit Julie and Matt."
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| Coach Taylor with several member of the US Cabinet |
Life seems to be going fairly well for Coach Taylor. When asked what's next and if he'll go back to coaching his eyes gloss over and he smiles his winning smile. But, he side steps the question better than Smash Williams during the State Title game.
"Some days I do miss coaching. But, what's life without exploring new possibilities. Wherever I go, I never forget what has transpired in Texas. There's a soft spot in my heart for those boys and to those coaches for what we went through. I never leave anything out of the question, though. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose."
