As David Taylor pondered whether to leave State College and become the wrestling coach at Oklahoma State this past spring, the Cowboys’ brass flew into town to meet with Taylor at his home. The reigning Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion said he notified Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, Taylor’s longtime friend and coach, that he would be interviewing. Wrestling fans quickly found the flight that Oklahoma State administrators were using and started speculating that the Cowboys were trying to make one of the most notable hires in the sport all time.
Advertisement Shortly after Taylor was interviewed at his home and was offered the job, he knew he needed to make a decision quickly. “It’s the biggest move in wrestling since Cael took the job at Penn State,” Taylor said in an interview this month. “When Cael took the job, social media wasn’t as big of a thing then, but yeah, there were a lot of people that were excited about it.
” #GoPokes | @CowboyWrestling pic.twitter.com/9HSx3hODfX — David Taylor (@magicman_osu) May 11, 2024 The vision Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg laid out to Taylor, about re-establishing one of the premier wrestling programs in the country, was ultimately too appealing to pass up.
Oklahoma State signed Taylor to a six-year contract in which Taylor’s base salary this season will be $1 million, per details of the contract that were obtained by The Athletic . Taylor’s salary will increase by $30,00.