He has coached before at his alma mater.

Now, Brad Taylor will do it once more.

Bearden High School confirmed the hiring of Taylor as its new head football coach on Friday, roughly 40 days after the program and Josh Jones parted ways.

Taylor, most recently, coached football at Karns, guiding the Beavers for seven seasons (2016-2022) and enjoying a couple of seven-win seasons in 2021 and 2022 when Karns showcased two-time Mr. Football DeSean Bishop at tailback.

Their playoff victory in 2021 was the first in Karns’ program history.

But Taylor stepped down in June 2023, citing a desire to get into school administration or to serve as an athletics director.

He heads to Bearden now to take over a football program he knows all too well.

A 1994 Bearden graduate, Taylor coached Bearden from 2007-13. The Bulldogs won 54 games in his seven seasons, going to the postseason six times and reaching the 2007 Class 5A state semifinals.

“I’m excited. (My wife) Kinsey and I had talked. I said, ‘I’m OK if I don’t coach anymore, but if I had an opportunity to get back to Bearden, that’d be the one place I would coach again,’” Taylor told 5Star Preps on Friday afternoon. “It’s home. I played there. I coached there. It’s a special place. Unique place. It’s a unique high school, not every high school is like it.

“There’s community pride and tradition with the school as a whole. … It would have been hard for me to not pursue or even look into the opportunity.”

This second time around, Taylor inherits a program that was winning under Jones. The Bulldogs won 25 games in three seasons under Jones and made 6A state quarterfinal appearances in 2023 and 2024.

A state comptroller report on Jan. 31 shed light on financial improprieties within the program centered around its pay with assistant coaches.

Bearden and Jones split on Feb. 18.

Four days later, Jones posted on X his first public comments about what happened, writing midway through his statement that “I walk out with my head held high knowing in my heart I DID NOTHING WRONG and I’m very proud of the work we did.”

If Bearden was seeking stability in the hiring of Taylor, he said he’s a good fit based off the amount of time he has spent as a head coach at Bearden and Karns, his successes there with his coaching staffs, and how they were able to develop players.

“I think I can be a comfort to young athletes and to parents. I’ve done this. I’ve had young athletes who’ve played for me who have a lot of success,” Taylor said.

“I feel like I can be a stable presence.”

Article written by Jesse Smithey/5Star Preps To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc… visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2024 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.