Nearly 20 years ago, UW missed out on the safety. On August 14, 2005, then a five-star safety at O’Dea High School, chose to play for USC instead of staying in Seattle to play for Washington. Now, the Seattle native is coming back home. Mays is reportedly joining coach Jedd Fisch’s staff as the UW safeties coach, filling the spot left by Vinnie Sunseri, who moved on to become the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State following the Sun Bowl. This will mark Mays’ first role as a position coach, after spending the last three years as a defensive analyst and assistant defensive backs coach at USC.
Mays is the son of former UW defensive tackle Stafford Mays, who played for the Huskies in 1978-79 before a nine-year NFL career. Stafford later coached at O’Dea, where Taylor played, and the team recently won the 2024 Class 3A state championship. Taylor’s decision to play for USC paid off immediately, as he became an All-American three times, including a consensus selection in 2008. He finished his college career with 276 tackles, 21 pass deflections, and five interceptions. Meanwhile, Washington struggled during the Tyrone Willingham era. Mays was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft and spent six years in the league, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals, accumulating 124 tackles over 80 games.
In 2022, Mays began his coaching career at USC as a defensive analyst. During his time at USC, defensive backs under his guidance, like Mekhi Blackmon and Calen Bullock, earned All-Pac-12 honors and were drafted into the NFL. Mays also briefly served as USC’s interim safeties coach ahead of the 2023 Holiday Bowl, where the Trojans defeated Louisville. His success in that role led to a promotion to assistant defensive backs coach in 2024. This coincided with changes in NCAA coaching regulations, which removed limits on on-field assistant coaches.
Mays’ hiring comes as UW rebuilds its defensive coaching staff after losing two assistants—Sunseri and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick—after the Sun Bowl. With new coordinator Ryan Walters, Fisch’s staff is now set for the 2025 season. Despite some turnover in the safety group, Mays will work with returning players like Makell Esteen, Vincent Holmes, and Paul Mencke Jr., as well as new transfers CJ Christian and Alex McLaughlin, and incoming four-star recruit Rylon Dillard-Allen. Mays’ local connections may also help UW in future recruiting battles, especially with prospects like Derek Colman-Brusa and O’Dea’s top-ranked edge rushers, Fameitau Siale and David Schwerzel.
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