Hunter Taylor

Clinical Associate Professor of Teacher Education and Coordinator of the Online Minor in Education

• Faculty
• Instructor

• Email:

  hataylo4@olemiss.edu

• Office Location:

  301 Guyton Hall

• Phone:

  662-915-2163

• Office Hours:

  By Appointment

• Social Media:

  • Instagram

• Website:

  www.coachanddoc.com

I am a Clinical Associate Professor who specializes in coaching education.

Research Interests

Coaching, Leadership, and Culture

Biography

Dr. Hunter A. Taylor serves as a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Education (SOE) where he is also the Coordinator of the Education Minor. Over the course of his eight years at the University of Mississippi (UM), Taylor designed and taught education courses, led recruiting efforts to bring teachers to critical needs public schools, produced research focusing on best practices in the field of education, and secured funding for state-wide outreach. Three of his biggest highlights include:

• Leading efforts to achieve record highs for teacher retention and cohort diversity in UM’s Mississippi Teacher Corps;
• Headlining the University’s 2021 TEDx conference on Resilience;
• And serving as an Affiliated Faculty Member in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at UM where he helps the Center live out its mission to better understand the South through his discipline of Education.

In addition to his work for the University, Taylor has also consistently given his time and expertise to the local community – most notably as the Scholar-in-Residence for the Oxford School District (OSD). In this role, he assists the district by serving as a leadership coach to Principals, Assistant Principals, Athletic Coaches, and the OSD Cabinet in their collective pursuit of empowering all students to become confident and creative builders of the future. In 2024, he also co-created The Charger Institute – a leadership class that he teaches for the district that invests in an annual cohort of high-performing employees.

While Taylor does have a diverse work experience from the result of serving in five different states in the arenas of K-12, Higher Ed, and Government, his biggest influences come from his experiences in Athletics. From 2006-2017, he served as a men’s basketball coach on the college, high school, middle school, and international levels; and he continues to influence coaches and sports programs through his work with 1) the Tomorrow’s 25 Coaching Fellowship, a state-wide initiative hosted by the Mississippi Association of Coaches that annually invests in 25 coaches from across the entire state, and 2) Coach & Doc – a storytelling brand built by him and Chris Cutcliffe that seeks to share wisdom on how to build great teams through their podcast, book, and storytelling gatherings.

Publications

Draw the Line: Jeff Traylor, the Gilmer Buckeyes, and a Season Deep in the Heart of East Texas

East Texas is a land of tough, committed, resilient, hard-working people who love and take care of each other. Communities come together in churches, in schools, and in high school football stadiums all across this, often overlooked, region of the state. Football is more than a sport for young men in this part of the country that is primarily made up of small, country towns. It's a means of modeling character, and instilling discipline and pride―a way of life led by a brotherhood of coaches, each generation molding the next. On the football field and off, coaches lead not only their teams but also the towns, garnering respect for their dedication and will to succeed, sometimes against great odds. The ethos of East Texas is especially embodied in the story of Jeff Traylor, former head coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes, and his long-time coaching staff. A native son, Traylor and his band of brothers transformed the Buckeyes into champions, and in doing so help tell the story of the entire region's obsession with high school football, and undeniable influence on all levels of the sport. This is the story of the coach, the team, and the region.

How to Build a Thick Institution: Organizational Lessons from a Championship High School Football Program