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Joe Taylor retires as FAMU football coach

Taylor was supposed to step down after the season, but he decided to reduce distractions by retiring with two games left.

By Randy Booth
Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Florida A&M head coach Joe Taylor announced Thursday he is stepping down immediately, according to the Associated Press.

With two games remaining this season, defensive coordinator Earl Holmes will act as the team's head coach.

"My life has really been enriched because of this profession," Taylor told reporters Thursday. "It's the greatest profession in the world."

Taylor told his team on Saturday that he would retire at the end of the season, but "subsequently changed his mind to leave immediately and eliminate any distraction to the team in its final two games."

Taylor will retire with a 233-96-4 lifetime record. In his five seasons at FAMU, Taylor was 35-19. He spent 16 seasons at Hampton, where he finished 136-49-1.

The Rattlers have struggled this season. They are 3-6 overall and 3-3 in the MAC. They are coming off a 16-3 loss to North Carolina A&T on Saturday.

Florida A&M finishes its season with North Carolina Central at home Saturday before travelling to play Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 17.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.