David Taylor opens up on Oklahoma State interview process: 'A lot of tough conversations'

David Taylor’s departure for Oklahoma State to take over as the wrestling head coach sent shockwaves throughout the sport in the spring.

Essentially, he had to make a decision on the fly following a meeting with the OKST brass at his home in Pennsylvania. The Olympic Gold Medalist and Penn State legend took on his first coaching gig with a seven-figure contract, proving the Cowboys wouldn’t take no for an answer.

It’s hard to picture Taylor repping anyone besides Penn State and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Which is why is such a difficult decision in the end.

“There were a lot of tough conversations,” Taylor said, via The Athletic. “When I did accept the job, I wasn’t able to call all the people I wish I could’ve called before the news hit, but things move quick. It’s one of the highest-profile jobs in wrestling. … 

“You make a decision like that, and there is a pretty large ripple effect with the decision that I made not only just for my family, but it extends well beyond that. Just processing all those things and the people that it affects, it was a pretty crazy time.”

Leaving Penn State, Cael Sanderson and his former teammates was a landmark decision, but it’s one that could change the future of the sport. Going to Oklahoma State could resurrect the Cowboys as the dominant power in the sport, or at least, a worthy challenger to the Penn State dynasty of the 2010s and beyond.

It’s no secret Taylor’s been molding the program in his own vision and learning on the fly. He recently described his first month on the job to FloWrestling.

“It’s good, really good,” Taylor told FloWrestling. “Yeah, it’s a new challenge, it’s fun. You know? It’s been great to build relationships with the guys we have on the team and now we’re just trying to get a little better.

“It’s new. So there’s lots of things that you know, just like anything else, like you just ask a lot of questions and I’m learning. I got a great team around me, our administration is amazing. Our coaching staff is amazing, you know, so we just complement each other really well, you know, and everyone has different levels of experience and you know, just figuring it out.”

Taylor had a simple message to those who consider Oklahoma State.

“We want people to come to Oklahoma State because they want to come to Oklahoma State,” Taylor said during his introductory press conference. “You want to wrestle at Oklahoma State. You want to win national championships Oklahoma State. We want team championships at Oklahoma State and we want to stay and win World and Olympic gold medals at Oklahoma State. And I think that’s what makes this place special.”