Eric Sorenson
Simply put, Richard Taylor is an Arizona high school football icon.
The 7-time Arizona State Champion, who is approaching 300 AZHS career wins (all at Centennial), is ramping up to chase another gold ball.
“Zone Read” sat down with Taylor to talk all things past, present, and future in his football world.
You recently got back from your team camp in Thousand Oaks, California. How did that go and how do you feel about the 2024 version of the Coyotes? “It was one of the best camps we’ve had, I’d say, in the last 15 years. You know, we really don’t have stars [on this team]. We just have a lot of really good kids that work hard, that try to do their job and listen well.
It’s a wrap, Cali Camp success! Thank you to @AY_BILT for great camp site and experience. Thank you to players and coaches for work put in! #SeniorsLead #TEAM_Teammate__self #CoyoteStrong pic.twitter.com/SfrSAxqdts
— Coyote Football (@Cehsfootball) July 20, 2024
“We’ve won state championships where we’ve had, maybe, one D-1 guy. The rest were just hard-working kids. This is what I’m starting to think about this group.”
What position group, or groups, are you most excited to see this fall? “Well, we are going to have new receivers. That will be interesting. But, I think the offensive line, and defensive line, have really worked hard. We had one practice [at camp], which was almost like a game. They were going so hard, they may as well have pads on. Kids had bloody noses and they were pushing after the play. It was good.”
You’ve been at Centennial since its inception in 1990. What does this program mean to you? “This feels like home. I feel a real responsibility to this school and to the community.
Special day today! Our COYOTE now Washington Commander @hampton_dom stopped by to check in on the COYOTES. Talked about moving to that ‘next’ level and the mindset. COYOTE Nation is proud of you Dom! Awesome to have you in the weight room today. pic.twitter.com/dqne7lvPNv
— Coyote Football (@Cehsfootball) July 9, 2024
“I really enjoy watching those freshmen who are gangly, and silly, and stupid turn into a kid that is a great player, great leader, great student. That’s very rewarding.”
When I think of you and your program here at Centennial, I think of big, physical offensive lines. I think of elite running backs. I think of a sound, swarming defense that will make an offense pay if they make a mistake or don’t take care of the ball. As the game has evolved, you’ve been able sustain success year after year. What’s been the secret formula? “Good coaches. Hiring good coaches and let them coach…we have hard-working, blue collar kids. I think we have nine former players coaching here. So they understand our culture and, fortunately, we’ve had them here a long time. I think that’s because I let them coach.
“When I started I was the offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinator, because I didn’t they anyone wanted to win as much as I did. Little by little [I gave that up] and everything got a lot better. I wasn’t so stressed about every little thing. I could just let [coach] and give them suggestions from time-to-time. I think that has been maybe the biggest part of our success is I let coaches coach.”
— Richard Taylor CeHS (@CoachTaylorCeHS) August 11, 2023
You moved to Arizona from Ohio back in 1986. What brought you from the Midwest to the southwest? “I think it was the winter of…we had a terrible winter. My sister moved to Tucson. My parents retired the following year and followed them out there. We came out to visit the following Christmas, and my wife kept me up until 2:00AM saying, ‘Why don’t we move here? Why are we staying in Ohio?’ That was the year pipes froze and broke. Water went everywhere. We were off two weeks because of snow. It was terrible. We talked and said, ‘Maybe it’s time to move.'”
If I would have told you when you took this job back in 1990, that you’d still be here in 2024, what would you have said back then? “I would say that I would hope I would go to a program and start it. That’s when Peoria was really growing. Every four years they were building a new high school…I felt very fortunate to get this job.”
Centennial was one of the first, if not the first, programs in Arizona to schedule out of state opponents. What was the thinking behind that? “We won two or three championsgips in a row, and one of the [assistant] coaches said, ‘Why don’t we play one of those really good teams?’ I said, ‘How would we do that? We don’t have the money.’ They said, ‘They’d have to come here.’ So that led to St. Thomas Aquinas [FL], Bishop Gorman [NV], and Mater Dei [CA]. We were fortunate enough to win those, except for Mater Dei. Bryce Young. What a nice kid he was. After the game, he came to me and said, ‘Coach, tell your defensive linemen I’ve never been sacked three or four times in one game. Your kids play really hard.'”
Is playing an elite out-of-state opponent a staple now for power programs here in Arizona to test themselves against that type of competition? “I think it is…people thought we were crazy when we played Bishop Gorman and St. Thomas Aquinas- who was ranked fifth in the country. Those are memories that kids, and dads, and the community are going to have forever. That’s what they talk about.”
How do you think AZHS football has improved since you got to Centennial? “Oh, leaps and bounds! When I was at Peoria [High – as an assistant], I remember, in the paper, it had all the D-1 players on one half sheet of the paper. That’s all there was. Now, most of the good schools have two or three, maybe four, a year. Arizona has become a place. We had 100 recruiters who came through last year.”
For years I’ve seen your offenses go on 11-play, 80-yard, eight-minute touchdown drives that simply demoralize opposing defenses. Everyone runs the spread and wants to score fast now. You’re the complete opposite and it’s beautiful that you can have just as much success running essentially the same system you did 30 years ago. In your opinion, is it STILL difficult for opponents to prepare for your physicality even though they know the street fight at the line of scrimmage is coming? “If you throw a long pass, people will go, ‘I blew coverage.’ It wasn’t like you beat anybody up. It was a good pass pattern. But, when you can take the ball and get three, four, five [yards] and they’re blitzing and they’re stunting and they’re bringing extra people and you’re still getting three, five, seven [yards] – that is when you take their heart away from them. They’re done. That is the football I like. I know that’s not the football the kids like…Woody Hayes said you go three-and-a-half, three-and-a-half, three-and-a-half [yards], you’ve got a first down. [Hayes] said, ‘This game was meant to be played by tough guys, not guys wearing skirts.’”
Doing the things that ‘Matter’. https://t.co/BtomUnkTtb pic.twitter.com/dTRlNO5TAT
— Richard Taylor CeHS (@CoachTaylorCeHS) August 24, 2022
Given all the success you’ve had here at Centennial, do you see a finish line for yourself coaching the Coyotes? “Right now I’m just going year-by-year. I know it’s coming. I’m a little bit afraid because this is what I do. We’re here over Thanksgiving. We’re here over Christmas break. Kids come in and lift. Once upon a time, it was football season. and then it stopped. Kids either wrestled or played basketball. When that was over they played baseball or track. Then, half way through the summer, you started working [on football]. You can’t do that anymore. If you do that, you’re going to get killed.
“My wife said, ‘Are you close to retiring?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ She said, ‘You’re going to mess around and be too old to do anything.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t want to do that.'”
