Fred Taylor Exclusive: Discussing the Jaguars, Patriots, Super Bowl LX, and More

With the Super Bowl on the horizon, we were fortunate to sit down with former NFL running back and Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor for an exclusive interview.

During the interview, Taylor shared his thoughts on the current state of the Jaguars, where he spent the majority of his 13-year career, and the New England Patriots, where he finished his time in the NFL. He also weighed in on the upcoming Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl, the Florida Gators, and discussed his experience filming the Hard Rock Bet Party campaign.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, Liam Coen, and Travis Hunter

Our conversation opened with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where Taylor spent 11 seasons. We discussed Trevor Lawrence’s breakout year, the importance of Liam Coen, and whether Travis Hunter could pull off a true two-way role in the NFL.

How impressed were you with Trevor Lawrence this season? Did he show why he was touted so highly coming out of Clemson?

I would say Trevor certainly progressed this year. He was able to show everyone why he was drafted number-one overall. He was able to tap into his full potential and give us a glimpse of the things he did at Clemson when they were competing for national championships every year.

The one thing about Lawrence is that he has the utmost faith. He’s a believer in Christ, and his faith will never waver. He doesn’t flinch at anything.

He’s just the ultimate competitor. He doesn’t back down, and he’s the leader that every team needs in their locker room.

Everyone is finally seeing the sort of leader he is on the field, and also the leader that he’s been over the years in the locker room. He’s had to battle injuries at times, which meant he didn’t have the opportunity to show his full capability.

But this year he played injury-free with new head coach Liam Coen, who is an offensive guru. Those two have a great working relationship. They were able to show the type of chemistry and cohesion that they developed together.

In turn, Trevor was able to go out and pass for over 4,000 yards, throw 29 touchdowns and rush for another 9.

I was excited for Trevor. I was excited for the organization, but more importantly, I was excited for the city of Jacksonville to have a winning product on the field. They’ve given that team so much support over the years and to finally get that feeling of what it’s like to win again, that got me excited the most.

But Trevor is the man, and I was happy he was able to show that this season. Going forward, I think he’ll be able to continue putting on great displays for everyone.

How much credit does Liam Coen deserve for this season? Did Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like they missed Coen’s coaching this season?

He did great with Baker Mayfield down there in Tampa. He turned Baker’s career around and obviously helped him get a long extension because his production was elevated. When Liam left Tampa, the Bucs weren’t quite as productive, so they definitely missed him.

During his tenure in Jacksonville so far, Coen has been able to get the players to buy into his philosophy and standards. He set a certain culture. The players followed it, and in turn, they were able to go out there and win 13 games this year. That just speaks volumes about Coach Coen and who he is as a person, and what he stands for.

I also want to give credit to my former teammate, Tony Boselli. Alongside Mr. Khan, they had the conviction to pull the trigger on hiring Coen and James Gladstone and say, “These are my hires.”

From day one, Coen, Boselli, and Gladstone set out to make tough decisions. It started on draft night when they went and got Travis Hunter. They made the tough decision to move up to the second pick, and they said, “Look, we’re not going to wait. We want to win now.”

Those tough decisions obviously led to other decisions on the roster, which led to the season and results they had.

So, collectively, I have to give credit to those three men because they built a team which was probably the most successful Jaguars team since 2017.

Travis Hunter’s season was cut short due to injury. What did you think of Hunter in the short time he was on the field? Do you think it’s possible to be a true two-way player in the NFL? How would you use the former Colorado star going forward?

We only got a glimpse of Travis and what he brings to the table.

He was great at Colorado as a two-way player. He’s a dynamic receiver. He’s amazing after the catch and he’s a great deep threat. As a cornerback, he is shutdown. We were able to see a small glimpse of this. He has a lot of potential, and his ceiling is extremely high.

How would I utilize him? It’s tough to say. I see him as more of an All-Pro cornerback rather than a receiver. But he is a great receiver, and it’s hard to not give him reps on that side of the ball.

If you had asked me on draft night, I would’ve utilized him more as a corner because it’s hard to find shutdown corners in this league. Then on offense, I think you can create opportunities with spot plays, shot plays, trick plays, reverses and screens where you can sprinkle in a few plays to get the ball in his hands.

But that’s why I’m sitting here with you guys though, because I don’t get paid the big bucks to make that decision as a head coach. So, I leave that up to Coach Coen and the crew.

All in all, in the small sample size we saw prior to his injury, I think Travis showed tremendous upside in his ability. Having him healthy next season will give the Jaguars so many opportunities to get creative when they’re game planning.

Travis Etienne Jr. had a strong season. As a running back yourself, what do you make of Etienne’s game?

Etienne has shown a lot of patience and persistence. There was a lot of bad media out there questioning if he could perform and what he did was answer all those questions.

He showed speed, burst and power. He showed that he’s an every-down back and that he’s still dangerous in the passing game as a receiver. He showed that he’s able to pick up the blitz on third downs in passing situations. So, he checked off every box that people questioned him on.

He was able to go over 1,000 yards rushing for the third time in his career, too.

So, I hope the Jags can find a way to sign him and bring him back to Jacksonville. He can continue to teach and lead the young running backs in Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. because he’s a good person.

He’s a good person, even more than he is a good player, and as a teammate, you need those guys in the locker room to help create a certain culture.

And as a running back, he has all the tools as well. He has the vision. He makes the cuts. He has a jump cut which is high quality, and it was just a matter of time before he showed the reason they drafted him and reunited him with Lawrence.

The Patriots: Super Bowl expectations, Mike Vrabel, and where Drake Maye ranks

Next stop: the New England Patriots, where Taylor spent the final two years of his career. We discussed Mike Vrabel’s immediate impact, where Drake Maye ranks among NFL quarterbacks, and how he sees the team faring in Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks.

How impressed have you been with Mike Vrabel’s first year as Patriots head coach?

Extremely impressed.

If you’re operating under the notion of a conspiracy theorist, one might say he tanked his last season in Tennessee, knowing he could get the Patriots job in the near future. He obviously had to wait, though, as they had a short stint with my former teammate, Jerod Mayo.

But to all credit, Mike has done a fantastic job turning this team around from a record of 4-13. To be able to earn the number two seed and beat everyone to earn an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl just speaks volumes about the quality he has as a coach and a person.

The guys were able to buy into his philosophy and trust him. Vrabel has done the same thing and had success everywhere. He had it as coordinator for the Houston Texans, coach for the Titans before things went south and now in his first year in New England. That just shows his quality.

I want to root for the Patriots in this one and my bias is rooting for them because of my time there. I got to see how much the fans love that team, organization and just how the whole region is crazy for football and other sports across the board.

But looking at the matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, it’s tough. I’ve seen that Seahawks defense up close against the Jags, so I know it will be tough.

How do you see the matchup with the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX going?

Firstly, it’s hard to count the Patriots out. They’ve been counted out throughout the regular season and in the playoffs, but they find a way to win.

Drake Maye is a baller. They have a nice mix of veterans and then a lot of hungry young players that are tapped into everything Coach Vrabel has given them.

On the other hand, you have a second-year head coach in Mike Macdonald in Seattle who has a guy experiencing a resurgence in his career. Sam Darnold has been counted out for some time but all he’s done the past two years is win football games in both Minnesota and Seattle.

That defense in Seattle, man. It’s hard to overlook how physical they are, and how dominant they’ve been this season. One thing that they’re great at is turnovers. They create a lot.

The theme of the playoffs has been that the teams that have won the turnover battle have won their games. So, if they can create some more turnovers against the Patriots and protect the ball better than Maye and the Pats, then they will win the big game, and vice versa for the Patriots.

Where does Drake Maye rank against other quarterbacks in the NFL?

That’s a really good question. Respectfully, Patrick Mahomes has still got to be the number one.

Josh Allen is right behind him. You still have the likes of Joe Burrow too, but he has had to deal with a lot of injuries.

You can throw Justin Herbert in there too. Everyone’s still waiting for him to make that leap and win some playoff games, but he has all the physical mechanics and tools.

Quarterbacks are always going to be judged on how well they do in the playoffs and the types of championships they win to solidify their place in history as one of the best.

So, considering all those things with Maye and his young career so far, I think he’s right where Joe Burrow was a few years ago. Where you can throw in the top five conversations, but you can’t throw him above some of those other AFC quarterbacks who have performed for several years.

But he’s on his way. If he can go out there and win this game, you have to throw him above Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.

It’s hard to put him in front of Allen because of the total body of work that Josh has put together, although he hasn’t won or played in the big one. Maye just needs to show he can perform like this year in and year out before I can put him in front of Josh.

The Patriots have an impressive running back tandem of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. What are your thoughts on both running backs and how their styles complement each other?

You have thunder and lightning. You have a guy who’s going to get downhill and is extremely physical. Then you have a guy who’s quick, elusive and will jump cut and take it to the house.

It reminds me a lot of myself and Maurice Jones-Drew on the Jaguars. Where you had a guy who could come in and be the hammer. Actually, with myself and Jones-Drew, we were both able to be the hammer.

But you have guys with different skill sets. They can both catch the ball really well, but Henderson is a better receiver than Stevenson.

But to be able to have two backs who can do everything well, it’s a benefit to the offense. No matter who’s in there, the offense won’t miss a beat and the playcaller can call every play in the playbook without hesitation.

After the Patriots’ win over the Denver Broncos, some have said championship games should be played in neutral domes, and that weather shouldn’t decide who goes to the Super Bowl. What are your thoughts on this?

I believe in home-field advantage. You should do your best to prepare for what the conditions require.

In my two years in New England under Coach Bill Belichick, he would say, “Don’t ask me what to wear for practice. Look at the forecast and prepare accordingly.”

If we had to come play here in Florida in early September, we would go inside the bubble, and they would crank the temperature up as high as they could to try to simulate the game conditions.

We had to prepare for the conditions the best way we could throughout the week and then on game day, make the necessary adjustments.

But one thing we didn’t do was make excuses for it. Whatever the elements are, prepare for it. It’s the same for the fans. If you have to layer up and get ready to go out there and support your team when it’s crunch time and the game is on the line, then that’s what you do. We’re all in it together at the end of the day.

The Pro Bowl, Florida Gators, and the Hard Rock Bet Party

Finally, we discussed Shedeur Sanders’ addition to the Pro Bowl roster, Taylor’s alma mater – the Florida Gators – and his experience filming the Hard Rock Bet Party campaign alongside fellow NFL players and athletes.

Shedeur Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl roster as a replacement. What did you make of this, and do you think this lessens the prestige of making the Pro Bowl?

This has been a topic for quite some time now. Even when I played, it was always considered more of a popularity contest. The reason I say that is that there are multiple seasons where I had better numbers than a lot of the guys who were voted ahead of me.

Then again, I played in a smaller market, and it was heavily reliant on fan voting. So, the prestige of it died well over a decade or two ago. It’s been an issue since 2001 or 2002, really.

But I’m happy for Shedeur. Obviously, his popularity supersedes his performance, and that’s not a knock on him. He was only able to play seven games for an organization that, quite honestly, hasn’t been very good.

I would like to see what Sanders does with a clean slate. He has to go in there and earn it from the onset of the year and play his way through a full NFL regular season.

But the Pro Bowl is somewhat of a mockery and joke. It’s a bit watered down, too.

It’s turned into games now rather than a game of football. They said you can’t be physical. You can’t hit. So, players started to do the brother-in-law techniques. They would just show up and not take it seriously.

That’s watered down the mystique of it all.

I’m happy for Shedeur. I don’t really know what it means at the end of the day, but he’ll have a Pro Bowl to his name.

But I think across the board, no one is really entertained by it.

What did you make of the Florida Gators’ decision to hire Jon Sumrall as head coach? Can he be the man to transform the Gators’ fortunes in 2026?

I don’t know much about Jon, other than the fact he was able to turn Tulane’s program around and have success there.

One thing I can say is that the SEC is big-boy, big-time football. It’s not Tulane.

Yet, I will still be there every step of the way to support him in any fashion. Whether it’s speaking to the players or coming in there and sharing some of my experience with the young running backs there. I’ll do whatever it takes.

I’m forever a Gator, and hopefully we can turn our program around similar to how Miami has turned it around in recent seasons.

So, Sumrall has my full support. I’m going to ride the wave as long as I can, right beside them.

What was it like filming the Hard Rock Bet Party?

I was surrounded by a lot of Hurricanes.

It was amazing, though. It was scheduled to be a 10-hour day, but it did not feel like 10 hours at all. It was just so much fun and very loose.

I was the one lone Gator in there, but I knew all those guys. They made it very easy, very professional, and we had so much fun.

I was standing at the gas pump with the monitors, and next thing I knew, I heard the commercial. People also keep telling me, “Fred, I saw you in the commercial with the hat on, looking all chilled.”

Even in the Amerant Bank Arena here, there are monitors in the bathroom. You look up while you’re using the restroom and you’re right there on the monitor. So, I can’t run from this commercial. They’ve done a great job of marketing it.

People reach out to me with screenshots of their own bets asking if they’re any good, and I’m like, “That’s for you to determine”.

But it was so much fun and a great experience. I was just happy to be a part of it.