A little over a week after firing one sideline boss, UTSA has hired another.
The Conference USA school announced Monday that Jeff Traylor has officially been hired as the Roadrunners’ new head football coach. This will mark the Texas native’s first head-coaching job at the collegiate level of football.
Traylor replaces Frank Wilson, who was fired after a 4-8 2019 campaign.
“Finding a leader who not only understands the landscape of recruiting in Texas but has demonstrated an ability to build a championship culture was key in this selection,” said UTSA’s athletic director, Dr. Lisa Campos, in a statement. “Jeff is a high energy individual who is going to engage our community, build relationships and positively impact the lives of our student-athletes, all while building a championship-caliber program.”
The past two seasons, Traylor served as the associate head coach and running backs coach at Arkansas. Prior to that, he served in the same roles for one season at SMU (2017) and as special teams coordinator (2015) and wide receivers coach/associate head coach for offense (2016) at Texas.
The first 26 years of his coaching career came in high school football in Texas, including the last 15 as a head coach at Gilmer High School. He won three state championships (in five appearances) during his time at that school.
“I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity, and thank Dr. Eighmy, Dr. Campos and the rest of the UTSA community for putting their trust in me,” a statement from Traylor began. “I can’t wait to meet our student-athletes and the rest of the Roadrunner Family, and I look forward to hitting the ground running. UTSA is a sleeping giant and I can’t wait to wake it up.
“Being a native Texan and a coach for so many years in this state, I understand how important football is to the people of Texas. I’m anxious to reconnect and continue building relationships with the Texas High School Coaches Association and all the great high school coaches in this state and beyond.”