Taylor was an offensive guru on par with McVay, only he never got his chance in the spotlight
Lionel Taylor was Sean McVay before the L.A. Rams coach came along, only the league wasn’t ready to see it.
When thinking about the 1979 Rams, Lionel Taylor is probably the last person you think of. That is not surprising to anyone familiar with Taylor’s story. However, his offensive acumen and leadership skills were instrumental to the Rams’ first Super Bowl appearance.
Taylor began his coaching career with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1970-76 at the height of the franchise’s dynasty. He was the team’s wide receivers coach during that span and helped shape future Hall of Famers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth into the best receiver tandem in the league.
Pittsburgh won the 1975 and 1976 Super Bowls, partially due to Taylor’s development of Swann and Stallworth; yet, he wanted more, and that’s what led him to Hollywood.
Taylor spent five seasons in Los Angeles, leaving the Steelers following their ‘76 big game win over the Dallas Cowboys. His role with the Rams was the same as his previous stop, and he stayed in that position for his first three years. L.A. also made an unexpected run to the 1980 Super Bowl against none other than Taylor’s former team.
While the Steelers went on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to secure their fourth and final Lombardi Trophy of the decade in the 31-19 win, Taylor had earned a promotion. Or more so, it was a declaration of what he already was.
Although he wasn’t formally the Rams’ offensive coordinator during the SB season, he was officially given the title beginning in the 1980 campaign. The results were immediate:
“The Rams, previously ranked 15th out of 28 in scoring offense, upped their output by 31 percent in his first year as OC. Los Angeles had the top-ranked rushing attack and tied for the most passing touchdowns that year,” per Denver Broncos digital media contributor Ben Swanson.
In Taylor’s first season as L.A.’s OC, the Rams scored 26.5 points per game, good enough for third in the league. Los Angeles had 6,006 yards of offense that year as the team improved from 9-7 to 11-5. Quarterback Vince Ferragamo threw 30 touchdown passes, with four running backs having over 400 yards on the ground, led by Cullen Bryant’s 807 yards.
Unfortunately, the offensive success didn’t last. The 1981 Rams dipped to 21st in points per game, as the team finished 6-10. Head coach Ray Malavasi kept his job while Taylor and the rest of the coaching staff were fired.
For a time, it seemed like Taylor was destined to earn his long-awaited promotion of becoming an NFL head coach. Again, the league just wasn’t ready for him.
Taylor’s resume with the Steelers and Rams should’ve made him the first Black head coach of the modern era. Instead, Art Shell earned the distinction after the Raiders hired him in 1989, coincidentally, the same year Taylor returned to the pros following a seven-year hiatus.
Taylor making history with the Rams ultimately meant nothing. The odds were completely stacked against him from the jump.
First and Pen writer Louis Moore wrote an excellent piece on Taylor in February 2021, saying:
“He should have been the first, but as a Black man, Lionel Taylor had three strikes against him. He was honest, ambitious, and good. This made him a threat to the white power structure. As a Black man, he had no shot at a head coaching position, at least not in the immediate future. He knew it and owners knew it. Ever since he began as a receivers coach for the Steelers, when he was only one of four Black assistants in the NFL, he held a realist view that racism would hold him back.”
The league missed out on a special offensive mind, delaying the racial progress that should’ve been made a priority in the first place. Taylor only getting one more chance despite his relatively successful Rams tenure was a joke, especially when white coaches have historically had few issues finding work after receiving pink slips.
These remain issues to this day because not enough people have cared to examine those troubling patterns more closely. The Rams and the NFL owe a great deal to Taylor.
He gave everything to the game he loved, but it gave him nothing back.