Joel Taylor was hired as the Defensive Coordinator / Linebacker Coach in January 2019, marking his second stint in Hickory. Taylor previously served as the outside linebackers coach for the Bears in 2009.
Taylor came to Lenoir-Rhyne after serving as the Defensive Passing Game Coordinator and Safeties Coach at The Citadel. Taylor went to The Citadel in 2014 from South Carolina State, and was part of a coaching staff that led the Bulldogs to Southern Conference titles in 2015 and 2016.
In 2018, Taylor directed a defensive secondary that saw junior Aron Spann III land among the national leaders for interceptions for much of the season and Kailik Williams earn Defensive Player of the Year honors in the preseason. Spann III would finished third in the SoCon in interceptions, earning First Team All-SoCon honors and October Player of the Month recognition after intercepting three passes in two weeks, including the game-sealing pick in a 20-14 win over Chattanooga on Oct. 21.
Taylor helped lead The Citadel to a number of achievements in 2016. The Bulldogs earned a program-record 10-game winning streak, a single-season school-record six road victories, only the seventh 8-0 conference record in 84 years of SoCon football, a second consecutive conference championship, a No. 6 national seed in the FCS Playoffs and the first home playoff game in 24 years.
The Bulldogs ranked seventh in FCS in pass defense and eighth in the country in total defense, improving by more than 50 yards from the previous season to allow only 302.7 yards of total offense per game. The Bulldogs also ranked first in the Southern Conference with 30 touchdowns allowed in 12 games, an average of 2.5 per game, and were second in the SoCon with 28 sacks, tied for the third-highest single-season total in school history.
In 2015, The Citadel earned a co-Southern Conference championship behind a then-school-record-tying six SoCon wins and finished 9-4 overall after advancing to the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs for only the second time in school history. The Bulldogs, who finished the season with a conference-best +117 scoring margin that included a +100 margin in SoCon play, earned the program’s first road playoff win with a 41-38 victory at Coastal Carolina in the first round of the playoffs.
Taylor lettered all four seasons as a defensive back at S.C. State from 2001-04. He was named team captain and defensive MVP during his senior campaign when he helped lead the team to the MEAC championship. As a junior, Taylor was a member of a squad that led the nation in defensive pass efficiency. Taylor went on to coach at S.C. State from 2004-08 and returned in 2011. Taylor helped lead the Bulldogs to MEAC Championships three times before moving on to The Citadel.
