After his loss in the Paris Olympics trials, David Taylor decided to take a drastic step. He decided to retire from wrestling altogether and start coaching instead. While this decision was surprising to the fans, most came to terms with it as looking at his legendary status, he could’ve definitely become a successful coach. But nobody could really predict what team he was about to join. ‘Magic Man’ decided to replace the legendary John Smith as the Oklahoma State coach as his incredibly successful 32-year stint came to an end with his retirement.

This decision by David Taylor shocked many as Oklahoma State is a huge rival of Penn State – a team where ‘Magic Man’ is considered a legend for his performances in the NCAA. It meant that not only did he have to succeed as a brilliant coach, he also had to bring the fans on to his side. Thus, it was going to be a tough job. But, now, since some time has passed since he took over as coach, his recruitments for the year are done, and the team is off to a decent start. In that light, David Taylor recently opened up about his start as a coach for Oklahoma State.

David Taylor talks about his start as a coach in the Oklahoma State University

In an interview with ‘Pistols Firing’, David Taylor spoke about how he is adjusting to life as the wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University. He said, “Yeah, it’s been good. It’s been fun. I mean, we had a really good environment on our matches here at home.” ‘Magic Man’ has had a great start to his coaching career results-wise, as his team now holds a record of 4-0 and 3-0 in conference duals.

But he insists that despite getting victories in these matches, there’s still quite a bit of room for improvement. “I think that’s just what competition does—it just gives you things to figure out what we need to continue to work on,” said David Taylor. The wrestling legend is determined to make his team work on the detriments that could possibly hold them back from glory in the future.

Thus, during their break, the team trained well and could become even better now. “We used this break to have some practices, to improve on some areas we needed to, and hopefully we’ll put that stuff to the test this weekend.” So, David Taylor is preparing his team for the big tournament on the weekend, which is the Las Vegas Invitational. Hopefully, he gets the desired outcome he wants, considering the fact that the team is doing quite well right now.

David Taylor on wanting more consistency from his team

David Taylor also spoke recently about how wrestling national championships are actually won. While winning against the opponent in front of you is immensely important, consistency still remains at the top. David said, “To go weigh in and wrestle one person, that’s not what wins the national tournament.” He added, “To be able to string five matches together and be resilient, [does].” This is something David would desire from all the fantastic wrestlers the team has recruited this year. When he spoke about the recruitments, he agreed that this is a great batch of wrestlers to coach. But they still have work to do.

“Oklahoma State is a place that every single recruit wants to come to. Now we’re at the top of the list… but we’ve still got work to do, and I’m excited to get to work,” he said in early 2024. Thus, David wants to see his team performing really well this year and hopes to significantly improve on their ninth-place finish last season. Hopefully, it starts with the Las Vegas invitational itself, as it is the first real challenge for the team this season. If they prevail, the David Taylor-led Oklahoma State team will be considered genuine title contenders this season.