The UTSA Roadrunners are running wild, posting an 8-0 record and ranked #23 in the AP Top 25 Football Poll. And the leader of this resurgence of Roadrunner football is head coach Jeff Traylor.
Jeff Traylor and Texas High School Football
But before all of his success at the college level, Traylor had a very successful 15-year tenure as head coach at Gilmer High School. He led his Buckeye teams to three state titles and two runner-up finishes.He won 87% of his games. Today, that winning percentage ranks 10th all-time in the Texas high school football record books.
Traylor posted an extraordinary 175-26 coaching record. He led Gilmer to five state championship game appearances. They won state titles in 2004, 2009, and 2014 and won an amazing 12 district championships.
The Buckeyes posted undefeated seasons twice, won by double-digits 11 times, posted seven 13-win seasons, and had three 15-win seasons during his tenure.
Jeff Traylor and his 2014 4A State Championship Team
In 2014, his 15-0 Class 4A state championship team suited up one of the most prolific offenses ever to set foot on a football field. Gilmer scored an extraordinary 950 points, which is the second-most in Texas high school football history. They averaged 59 points and 536 yards per game.Led by QB McLane Carter (3969 yards, 47 TDs), the Buckeyes scored 60 points or more points nine times (twice in the playoffs) and scored 80 points twice (once in the playoffs).
Gilmer also gained 8,577 total yards of offense as a result of a balanced attack consisting of 293 yards passing and 242 yards rushing per game.
The defense was just as prolific. The Buckeyes allowed only 276 points, with five single-digit outings and two shutouts. As a unit, the Gilmer defense intercepted 23 passes and forced 17 fumbles.
Gilmer won the 2014 4A state championship with a 35-25 win over West Orange-Stark.
Gilmer’s other two state titles both under Coach Traylor came at the Class 3A level in 2004 and 2009. Later on, Gilmer changed the name of its stadium to Jeff Traylor Stadium, in honor of their successful head coach.
Jeff Traylor Coaching Accolades
Coach Traylor has earned many coaching accolades as a high school coach in Texas, including:Induction into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor, 2019
4X Texas High School Football Coach of the Year
Coach of the Decade (the 2000s), Tyler Morning Telegraph.
12X District Coach of the Year,
4X East Texas Coach of the Year
4X Ted Jeffries Award winner
Carl Padilla Coach of the Year
KYKX Coach of the Year
2X Old Coach Network Coach of the Year
Traylor got into high school coaching as an assistant coach at Big Sandy High School from 1990 to 1993.
He then spent seven years, from 1994 to 2000 coaching for Danny Long at Jacksonville High School. There he served in several coaching positions, including passing game coordinator, defensive backs coach, receivers coach, and special teams coordinator.
At Jacksonville High, he coached future NFL quarterbacks Josh McCown (Sam Houston State) Luke McCown (La. Tech), and also Randy McCown, a former Texas A&M quarterback.
Coach Traylor is a graduate of Gilmer High School, Class of ’86.
UTSA extends football coach Jeff Traylor through 2031 on $28 million deal
UTSA announced a long-term extension for coach Jeff Traylor on Sunday, signing him to a $28 million deal that runs through 2031.
Traylor, 53, is 15-5 in two seasons at UTSA, including an 8-0 start and a No. 16 ranking this season, already matching the program record for wins in a season and reaching its first AP poll ranking Traylor is considered a rising star and was a top candidate for the Texas Tech job that opened recently when Matt Wells was fired.
Traylor's original contract began at $800,000 a year plus incentives. This new deal will average $2.8 million annually plus potential bonuses, and UTSA says it will increase the salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff.
The third coach in UTSA's 10-year football history, Traylor said in a statement that the school leaders were proactive before the season about discussing an extension.
"My staff and I are thrilled about what the future holds for this program," Traylor said. "I say this all the time, but this game is about the players and they are the reason we are in this profession to begin with. This is exactly why we have chosen to make this announcement today. We should all be talking about what they have accomplished this season -- they are making history every week."
Traylor's new contract includes a buyout of $7.5 million if he leaves UTSA before or during the first year of the contract, which begins Jan 1, 2022. It drops to $7 million in the second year, then by a million each year until the sixth year. Between then and season 10, he would be responsible for 25% of all of his remaining compensation.
Traylor was an assistant under Chad Morris at SMU and Arkansas before arriving in San Antonio, and also served as an assistant at Texas under Charlie Strong. But he was well-known in Texas as a high school coach who served 15 years in his hometown of Gilmer in East Texas, going 175-26 with three state titles and two runner-up finishes.
Former Hog assistant Traylor signs extension at UTSA
By: The Associated PressPublished: Sunday, October 31, 2021
UTSA coach Jeff Traylor watches from the sideline during the second half of the team's NCAA college football game against Lamar, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — No. 16 UTSA and coach Jeff Traylor have agreed to a contract extension worth $28 million that runs through the 2031 season.
The school announced Sunday that Traylor’s annual salary will average $2.8 million. The 54-year-old former Arkansas running backs coach is 15-5 in two seasons at Texas-San Antonio. His name had come up as a possible candidate for the recently opened head coaching vacancy at Texas Tech.
“Jeff saw something special at UTSA when he first expressed interest in this job and we likewise knew we had someone special when we hired him to take over our program,” UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos said in a statement.
The Roadrunners (8-0) are in the midst of the program’s best season since joining the top tier of Division I college football in 2012. They currently lead Conference USA and are ranked for the first time.
“I say this all the time, but this game is about the players and they are the reason we are in this profession to begin with,” Traylor said in a statement. “This is exactly why we have chosen to make this announcement today. We should all be talking about what they have accomplished this season, they are making history every week.”
UTSA also recently announced it would be moving from C-USA to the American Athletic Conference though an exact date for the transition is still to be determined.
Traylor is now likely to be the coach to guide UTSA through that transition. A native of Gilmer, Texas, east of Dallas, spent 15 years coaching Gilmer High School before joining Charlie Strong’s staff at Texas as an assistant Texas in 2015.
He spent a season three seasons an assistant at SMU and Arkansas under Chad Morris before replacing Frank Wilson in December 2019 at UTSA.
The new contract includes a buyout of 60% of all compensation if Traylor is terminated without cause.
If Traylor were to leave before or during year one of the deal, the school would be owed $7.5 million. The buyout drops to $7 million during year two and then by an additional million over each of the next three years.
The deal also calls for a salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff of about $3 million a year.
