Jason Taylor (American football) facts for kids
Taylor with the Miami Dolphins in 2009
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| Miami Hurricanes | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive ends coach | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Born: | September 1, 1974 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 244 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| High school: | Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Akron (1993–1996) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1997 / Round: 3 / Pick: 73 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Jason Paul Taylor (born September 1, 1974) is a famous American former football player. He played as a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Most of his career was spent with the Miami Dolphins.
Today, Jason Taylor is a coach for the Miami Hurricanes. He teaches defensive ends. He played in the NFL for 15 years. He was with the Dolphins for 13 of those years. He also played one season each for the Washington Redskins and the New York Jets.
Jason Taylor was a top player in college football for the Akron Zips. The Dolphins picked him in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft. He quickly became one of the best defensive ends in NFL history. He holds many records for the Dolphins. This includes the most games played by a defensive player (204 games). He is also the Dolphins' all-time leader in sacks with 131.
Overall, Jason Taylor is 7th on the NFL all-time sacks list with 139.5 sacks. He has the 4th most forced fumbles ever (46). He is also the all-time leader in touchdowns from recovering fumbles (6). He also holds the record for interceptions returned for touchdowns by a defensive lineman (3). He retired from playing football on December 28, 2011.
Throughout his career, Taylor won many awards. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. He also won the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2007. This award recognizes both great playing and helping the community. He was chosen for the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team. In 2017, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Contents
- Jason Taylor's Early Life and College Football
- Jason Taylor's Professional Football Journey
- Jason Taylor's Awards and Honors
- Dancing with the Stars
- Jason Taylor's Charity Work
- Jason Taylor's Family Life
- Jason Taylor's Coaching Career
- Images for kids
- See also
Jason Taylor's Early Life and College Football
Jason Taylor grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played high school football at Woodland Hills High School. He was taught at home from 10th to 12th grade.
College Career at Akron
While at the University of Akron, Taylor was a key player for the Akron Zips football team. He played for four years and started for three. During his college career, he made 279 tackles and 21 sacks. He also recovered seven fumbles and made three interceptions.
He was chosen as a first-team All-Mid-American Conference player twice. As a junior, he was even named an All-America player. In 1996, he had an amazing game against Virginia Tech. He made 12 tackles, two sacks, and recovered two fumbles. He even tackled a punt returner in the end zone for a safety!
Taylor also played for the Akron Zips men's basketball team. In 2004, he was honored by Akron University. He studied political science and criminal justice.
Jason Taylor's Professional Football Journey
Jason Taylor was picked by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft. He quickly became one of the best defensive ends in the league.
Playing for the Miami Dolphins (First Time)
Starting Strong: 1997–1999
Taylor became a starter in his first year, 1997. He recorded five sacks and forced two fumbles. The next year, 1998, he had nine sacks. In 1999, he made his first NFL interception.
Becoming a Star: 2000–2003
In 2000, Taylor had a fantastic season with 14.5 sacks. This earned him his first trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2001, he signed a big contract to stay with the Dolphins.
In 2002, Taylor led the entire NFL in sacks with 18.5! He also forced seven fumbles. He was named an All-Pro player and went to the Pro Bowl again. In 2003, he continued his strong play with 13 sacks.
More Great Seasons: 2004–2007
Taylor kept playing at a high level. In 2004, he had 9.5 sacks. In 2005, he had 12 sacks.
His 2006 season was one of his best ever. He had 13.5 sacks, forced 9 fumbles, and made two interceptions. Both interceptions were returned for touchdowns! Because of this amazing effort, he was named the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named an All-Pro for the second time.
In 2007, Taylor reached double-digit sacks again. He also made another interception, which he returned for a touchdown. He holds the NFL record for most fumble returns for touchdowns (6). He also has the most defensive touchdowns by a defensive lineman (9).
Time with the Washington Redskins
In 2008, Jason Taylor was traded to the Washington Redskins. This happened after the Redskins had some injuries to their defensive players. He played one season with them. In March 2009, he was released by the Redskins.
Back to the Miami Dolphins (Second Time)
In May 2009, Taylor signed a one-year deal to return to the Miami Dolphins. On November 1, he set an NFL record. He returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown against the New York Jets. This extended his record for most defensive touchdowns by a defensive lineman to 9. He also made his 8th and final career interception that season.
Playing for the New York Jets
Taylor signed with the New York Jets in April 2010. On September 19, 2010, he sacked New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. This sack put him in the top 10 for most sacks in NFL history. He finished the season tied for 8th all-time with 132.5 sacks. In January 2011, he played in his first Conference Championship game. The Jets lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After one season, Taylor was released by the Jets in February 2011.
Final Stint with the Miami Dolphins
On August 1, 2011, Taylor signed with the Miami Dolphins for a third time. During a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he sacked Michael Vick twice. This brought his career sack total to 139.5, making him 6th all-time in NFL history.
Retirement and Life After Football
On December 28, 2011, Jason Taylor announced he would retire. His final game was on January 1, 2012, a win against the New York Jets. After the game, his teammates carried him off the field. He retired as 6th all-time in NFL sacks. He also had 47 forced fumbles, 29 fumble recoveries (with an NFL record 6 returned for touchdowns), and 8 interceptions (with 3 returned for touchdowns).
After retiring, Taylor became a football analyst for ESPN. He also joined the board of the NFL Foundation.
On October 14, 2012, Taylor was inducted into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll. This is a special honor for great Dolphins players.
On February 4, 2017, Jason Taylor was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is a huge honor for football players. He was chosen in his very first year of eligibility.
Jason Taylor's Awards and Honors
Jason Taylor won many awards during his career. He was the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He also won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year award twice (2002, 2006). In 2007, he received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. This award is for players who are great on the field and help their communities.
He was selected for the Pro Bowl six times. He was also named First or Second-team All-Pro four times. He won the "AFC Defensive Player of the Week" award seven times. He also won the "NFC/AFC Defensive Player of the Month" award three times.
Taylor also won many team awards with the Dolphins. He won the "Dan Marino" Team MVP Award a record four times. He also won the "Don Shula" Team Leadership Award four times.
Dancing with the Stars
Jason Taylor also appeared on Dancing with the Stars. He danced with professional partner Edyta Sliwinska. They performed many different dances, like the foxtrot, Mambo, Jive, and Tango. They even got a perfect score of 30/30 in the finals! Jason and Edyta finished as the runners-up in the competition.
Jason Taylor's Charity Work
In 2004, Jason Taylor and his first wife, Katina, started the Jason Taylor Foundation. Their goal was to make life better for children in South Florida.
The foundation has done many great things:
- They created the Jason Taylor Reading Room. This is an after-school program to help kids in cities learn to read better.
- They helped rename a learning center at Jackson Memorial Hospital to "The Jason Taylor Children's Learning Center."
- They gave college scholarships to 11 sixth-grade students.
- They started the "Big Screens-Big Dreams" program. This shows inspiring movies to student-athletes.
- They gave 60 children $300 for back-to-school shopping. This was part of their "Cool Gear for the School Year" program.
Taylor has also worked with the Invicta Watch Group to create special watches. Part of the money from these watches goes to charity.
Jason Taylor's Family Life
Jason Taylor married Monica Taylor on August 18, 2020. They had their first child together, a baby boy, in August 2021.
Jason and his ex-wife Katina have three children: sons Isaiah and Mason, and daughter Zoe. Katina is the sister of Jason's former teammate Zach Thomas. Jason and Katina divorced in 2015.
Jason's sister, Joy Taylor, is a well-known sports news anchor. His sons, Isaiah and Mason, both play college football. Isaiah plays at Arizona, and Mason plays at LSU.
Jason Taylor's Coaching Career
Taylor coached at St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) for five years. From 2017 to 2019, he was the defensive line coach. In 2020 and 2021, he became the defensive coordinator. During his time there, the high school team won three state championships in a row!
In 2022, Taylor moved to college coaching. He joined the University of Miami (FL) as a defensive analyst. In 2023, he was promoted to be the team's defensive ends coach.
Images for kids
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Taylor (#99) with fellow 2009 Dolphins team captains Chad Pennington, Joey Porter and Jason Ferguson
See also
In Spanish: Jason Taylor para niños
