SAN ANTONIO — Calling himself a high school coach at heart, folksy East Texas native Jeff Traylor is raring to go as the third head coach in UTSA football history.
Traylor, 51, was associate head coach at the University of Arkansas the last two seasons before being hired Monday to jump-start San Antonio's fledgling FBS program.
"I'm so excited to get back in the great state of Texas and the great city of San Antone," Traylor said Tuesday during a lively news conference at the Alamodome, where UTSA has played its home games since kicking off its first season in 2011.
Traylor was so pumped for his Saturday interview with UTSA president Taylor Eighmy and Lisa Campos, the university's vice president for interscholastic athletics, that he couldn't sleep Friday night. He watched the movie "The Alamo" instead.
On Tuesday, he invoked a scene in the classic that portrays a well-known part of Texas lore: Col. William Travis drawing a line in the sand and imploring his hopelessly outnumbered garrison to join him in a fight to the death.
“I need every one of you to cross the line with me,” Traylor said. “I need you to believe it. I need you to get on board with me. Your time, your money, if it’s only a dollar, if it’s only a minute, I need it. If it’s just a letter to my players, I need it. If it’s a Twitter follow or a like, I need it. I need your help. Draw the line. Cross it with me.”
Traylor succeeds Frank Wilson, who was fired Dec. 1 after going 19-29 in four seasons. The Roadrunners went to their first bowl in Wilson's first year (2016) and finished 6-5 in 2017, but they fell to 3-9 in 2018 and were 4-8 this season.
Traylor’s five-year contract begins on Dec. 13 and includes $800,000 in guaranteed compensation in year one, according to a UTSA news release. It also includes financial incentives for various goals including, but not limited to, regular-season game wins, achievement of a bowl game and ticket sales milestones.
A highly successful high school coach at Gilmer in East Texas, Traylor also has been an assistant coach at Texas (2015, 2016) and SMU (2017). He was an associate head coach for offense at UT under Charlie Strong in his second season with the Longhorns, and was associate head coach in his only season at SMU.
Eighmy shared his vision for the UTSA football program and its place in San Antonio.
"We can be to our city of San Antonio what the Houston Cougars are to Houston, or the SMU Mustangs are to Dallas," Eighmy said. "We have all the ingredients here to do that and achieve that prominence."
Traylor shot to the top of UTSA's list of job candidates even before Eighmy and Campos spoke with him.
"Throughout our search procress, Coach Traylor's name kept coming up, over and over in every conversation we had," Eighmy said. "These are the things we heard over and over: 'You must check him out. He's deeply connected. Bring him back to Texas.
"'He wants the job. He's ready to be a head coach, and can take your program forward and build on the foundation that you have. And he's ideal for you, and your for him.'"
Like Eighmy, Campos was taken by Traylor's personality and warm nature.
"I'm so happy that you all got an opportunity to see his real personality," Campos told reporters after the news conference. "He's genuine and he can't be scripted."
To wit: Taylor spoke about "going country" and eating chips and salsa straight out of the jar in his hotel room Monday night. He also drew a hearty laugh from his audience when he described his wife, Cari, as being "hotter than fish grease."
Traylor spoke about hitting it off quickly with Eighmy and Campos when they met for the first time.
"I felt them immediately," Traylor said. "I felt it in my spirit. I knew it in my soul. We just connected and it ignited my passion even more when I first started communicating with them about what I already felt about a job whose potential is absolutely unlimited. Unlimited.
"What else do you want? When you're a ball coach, you're looking for a great administration. What's better than those two? You hear them speaking, You hear their vision. Who wouldn't want to team up with that from the very beginning?"
While Traylor spoke of the importance of having the support of Eighmy and Campos, he quickly pivoted to the young men he'll coach.
"The most important part, you've got to have players," Traylor said. "There's already talent on the roster. There's already great players on the roster. In the great city of San Antonio, in the great state of Texas, you can't find players?
"We can't just draw the line around the city of San Antonio, and lock down those players? In the state of Texas, we can't find players? And the game is about players. It's always been about players. It always will be about players."
Traylor met with his new players briefly Tuesday morning at UTSA. Some of the players were later shuttled to the news conference by bus.
"These guys that showed up today, after only hearing me for 17 minutes and 35 seconds this morning, it means the world to me, you taking the time out of your day to show up and listen to me speak again. Thank you all for being here."
Traylor's top priorities are to hire his staff and hit the recruiting trail ahead of next week's early national signing day.
"Five on the road today," Traylor said, referring to the number of assistants he had visiting with recruits Tuesday.
Traylor said he already has hired his offensive and defensive coordinators, but declined to disclose their names because they're still negotiating contracts.
Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney will be the Roadrunners' new offensive coordinator and McNeese offensive coordinator Matt Mattox will join Traylor's staff as the team's run-game coordinator.
Traylor earned a reputation as an outstanding recruiter during his stints as Texas, SMU and Arkansas.
"I've recruited my tail off," Traylor said. "I'm known for that. I'm known for developing players."
Gilmer went 175-26, won three state championships and was state runner-up twice in 15 seasons under Traylor. Buckeye Stadium in Gilmer was renamed in Traylor's honor this year.
Traylor received a ringing endorsement from D.W. Rutledge, former executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association.
"I'm here to represent the Texas High School Coaches Association," said Rutledge, who led Judson to four state titles in 17 seasons before resigning in 2001 to take an executive position with the THSCA. "We're thrilled to have Jeff Traylor back in Texas.
"Coach Traylor is very well connected in the Texas high school coaching community. I believe he's going to be a great hire for this university. We're excited for Jeff and we're excited for UTSA."
Jeff Traylor Profile
Age: 51
Hometown: Gilmer
Education: Gilmer High School (Class of 1986), Stephen F. Austin (bachelor's and master's degrees in education). He played football at SFA as a walk-on.
High school coaching career: Big Sandy, assistant coach, 1989-92; Jacksonville, assistant coach, 1993-99; Gilmer, head coach, 2000-14.
College coaching career: University of Texas, special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, 2015; associate head coach for offense and wide receivers coach, 2016; SMU, associate head coach and running backs coach, 2017; University of Arkansas, associate head coach and running backs coach, 2018-19.
Family: Traylor and his wife, Cari, have two sons, Jordan, 26, and Jacob, 22; and a daughter, Jaci, 19.
Noteworthy: Gilmer went 175-26, won three state championships, and was state runner-up twice in 15 seasons under Traylor. Gilmer renamed Buckeye Stadium to Jeff Traylor Stadium this year . . . UT signed the seventh-ranked recruiting class in the country in back-to-back years during Traylor's stint as the Longhorns' lead recruiter. He was named Big 12 Recruiter of the Year. He helped Arkansas sign the school's first Top-20 recruiting class, which included 1,000-yard rusher Rakeem Boyd from Houston.
