Bio

Veteran football coach Dave Taynor joined the Defiance College football staff in March 2025 as the team's offensive coordinator and associate head coach. Coach Taynor possesses 12 years of experience as a college head coach along with 26 total seasons coaching football and 21 at the college level.

Taynor has a long history with head coach Bill Nickell, beginning with their time at Urbana University. Taynor was Nickell's head coach before the current DC head coach started his coaching career on his staff. Nickell linked up with Taynor again at Lock Haven where Nickell served as Taynor's offensive coordinator for five seasons. 

Coach Taynor, an Urbana alum like Nickell, was his alma mater's head coach for seven seasons from 2008-14 and led the program to two conference championships. During his time at Urbana, Taynor helped transition the program from NAIA to NCAA Division II and went 38-39 as the program's winningest head coach. He spent five more seasons at Lock Haven from 2015-19 before moving into coach high school football for the last five years. He led the football programs at Graham High School (2020-22) and Sidney (2023-24) in Ohio and earned conference titles at each stop, including an undefeated regular season during his first year in 2020.

Prior to his tenure as a head coach, Taynor gained experience as a coordinator and assistant coach at every level of college football. Starting as a student assistant at Urbana in 1999, he got Division I experience as a graduate assistant at Louisville. He spent the next three seasons at NAIA Culver-Stockton as the Offensive Coordinator, offensive line and tight ends coach. His next two years were spent at Division III Wisconsin Stevens Point as the offensive line coach one seasons followed by one season as the Defensive Coordinator and linebackers coach. He returned to Ohio for the next two years with Division II Tiffin as he ran the offense and coached the offensive lineman.

Taynor was a four-year football player at Urbana, earning his bachelor's degree in sports science in 1999. He was a two-time All-MSFA performer and was the first Urbana football player to be named Academic and Athletic All-American during his senior season. Taynor also holds a master's degree in higher education with a focus in sports administration from the University of Louisville in 2000.