Taylor aims to return Rattlers to top form

It has been seven years since FAMU's last postseason appearance.

The Rattlers' new coaching staff - under Joe Taylor - is charged with making everyone forget the Rubin Carter era and the recent troubles and return the program to where it was in the mid- to late-1990s. That's when FAMU won four outright Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles, made seven consecutive postseason appearances and won the 1998 Black college national crown.

"That's something to be expected," said George Smalll, the Rattlers' associate head coach and defensive line coach. "You take the reins of a stallion and have an opportunity to ride a stallion, and you want to showcase him. We are committed in terms of bringing it back to where it used to be traditionally."

One of the first moves made by coach Taylor - who won four black college championships at Hampton and has the third-best winning percentage of active FCS coaches (.718) - was hiring former FAMU linebacker Earl Holmes as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Holmes, who spent 10 years in the NFL, is still the Rattlers' career record-holder in total (509), solo (309) and assisted tackles (200), and he was a three-time All-MEAC selection during his career (1992-95).

"It just brings huge dividends [having Holmes]," Small said. "The kids are very, very excited to have him there and coaching them and knowing how he started out and that he's more or less right there where they were a few years ago."