Sean Michael Maurice Taylor (April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007) was an American professional football player who was a safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected fifth overall in the 2004 NFL draft by the Redskins, where he played four seasons until his murder in 2007.
As a high school player, Taylor led Gulliver Prep to a Florida state championship and set the state record for single-season touchdowns. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he was a member of their 2001 BCS National Championship team and won the Jack Tatum Trophy. With the Redskins, he gained a reputation as a hard-hitting player and was nicknamed "Meast" from the expression "half man, half beast." He made one Pro Bowl appearance in 2006.
During the 2007 season, Taylor was shot by intruders at his Miami area home and died the next day on November 27. Posthumously, he earned a second Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro honors. Taylor was inducted to Washington's Ring of Fame in 2008.
Taylor was born in Florida City, Florida, on April 1, 1983. He spent his early years growing up with his great-grandmother in Homestead, Florida and later moved to his father's home at the age of 11. Taylor was baptized at the Bethel Seventh day Adventist Church in Florida City, Florida. He grew up in a low income neighborhood in Miami, on a street lined with candy colored houses.
Taylor played high school football in Pinecrest, a suburb of Miami. He began his high school football career at Miami Killian Senior High School, then a Class 5A public school, famously known for the school that garnered the talents like Frank Gore Jr., Lamar Miller. He then later transferred to Gulliver Preparatory School, where he was a three-sport star in football, track and field, and basketball due to Killian not allowing him to play both side of the ball. Despite missing the first game of the season, the team's only loss, he helped Gulliver win the Florida Class 2A State Championship in 2000 with a 14–1 record.
Taylor was a star on both sides of the ball during that season, playing running back, safety, and linebacker. He rushed for 1,400 yards, scored a state-record 44 touchdowns, and twice rushed for over 200 yards during Gulliver's state playoff run. He also compiled more than 100 tackles during the season and scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in the state title game victory over Marianna High School. In track and field, Taylor won the state 2A 100-meter dash in 2000 and was also one of the state's top 400-meter dash sprinters.
Taylor was considered the top prospect in Miami-Dade County by the Miami Herald. He was also rated the nation's No. 1 skill athlete and an All-American by Super Prep. Taylor was also an Orlando Sentinel Super Southern Team selection, the No. 1 athlete on The Florida Times-Union Super 75 list and rated the No. 1 player in Florida by The Gainesville Sun.
In 2007, he was also named to the Florida High School Athletic Association's All-Century Team, which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state. After his death, Taylor was honored at Gulliver by a plaque that was placed in the school's cafeteria. The football field at Gulliver Prep was renamed Sean Taylor Memorial Field on September 5, 2009.
Taylor was recruited to play for coach Larry Coker's Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami. He was also a member of the Hurricanes track and field team, competing in events such as the 100-meter and 200-meters.
As one of only four true freshmen on the 2001 Miami Hurricanes football team, Taylor carved a niche for himself in Miami's secondary in nickel and dime defensive schemes. During the season, Taylor was named Big East Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Hurricanes won the national championship in 2001, and the 2001 Miami Hurricanes team has subsequently been ranked among the best in the history of college football.
In 2002, his first season as a starter, Taylor was a second-team All-Big East selection by the league's head coaches. He finished third on the team in tackles with 85 (53 solo), broke up 15 passes, intercepted 4 passes, forced one fumble, blocked one kick and returned a punt for a touchdown. He led all Miami defensive backs in tackles, interceptions and passes broken up, and had a career-high 11 tackles (2 solo) and intercepted 2 passes in the Hurricanes National Championship loss to Ohio State. He made a critical play during the game, in which he intercepted Buckeyes quarterback Craig Krenzel in the endzone and returned the ball out of the endzone. Buckeyes running back Maurice Clarett ran Taylor down and stripped the ball from him, some argue Sean Taylor's knee was down before the ball was stripped away from him, but the call on the field was a turnover. At that time there was no instant replay to review the call, but the call likely would not have been overturned. Clarett's recovery for Ohio State, allowed them to kick a field goal to go up 17–7 at the time.
Taylor produced a historic season during his final year at Miami that culminated with a plethora of honors and awards. He was named a unanimous first-team All-American, the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back. He led the Big East Conference and ranked first nationally in interceptions with 10, tying the record for interceptions in a season with former Hurricanes standout Bennie Blades. Taylor also finished first in total tackles with 77 (57 solo). He intercepted two passes in Miami's impressive 28–14 win over Pittsburgh, playing a key role as the Hurricanes limited All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald to just three receptions for 26 yards. He returned interceptions for an average of 18.4 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown return at Boston College, a 50-yard scoring runback at Florida State and a 44-yard scoring runback against Rutgers University. His three touchdown returns of interceptions is a Miami single-season record.
Taylor also competed in track and field as a senior for the Hurricanes. He placed 4th in the 100-meter at the Gatorade Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida, with a time of 10.77 seconds, behind teammates Terrell Walden, Roscoe Parrish and Travarous Bain. His best efforts for the season came at the Big East Outdoor T&F Championships in Storrs, Connecticut, where he ran personal-bests of 10.74 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 21.60 seconds in the 200-meter dash. He also participated as a member of the 4x100 relay.
Following his 2003 season, Taylor announced that he was entering the NFL draft. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, but opted to skip all of the combine drills and only met with team representatives and personnel.
In the 2004 NFL draft, the Washington Redskins selected Taylor in the first round with the fifth overall selection. He was the first of a record six players selected in the first round from the University of Miami; the other five players were Kellen Winslow II, Jonathan Vilma, D. J. Williams, Vernon Carey, and Vince Wilfork.
On July 27, 2004, the Redskins signed Taylor to a six-year, $18.5 million contract that included a $13.4 million signing bonus and could have been worth $40 million with incentives and bonuses. His contract also included a seventh-year option. Taylor became the first top ten pick to sign his contract in 2004.
On August 4, 2004, dissatisfied with his contract, Taylor fired his agents, Eugene Mato and Jeff Moorad. He fired them after other top ten picks signed their contracts and felt their deals were better in comparison. This marked his second time firing agents within five months after he fired agent Drew Rosenhaus two days after the NFL draft. He immediately rehired Rosenhaus, who served as his agent for the remainder of his career. Taylor also had an incident that involved his early departure during the NFL's Rookie Symposium which was mandatory for every incoming player from the draft and was held over four days. He left after the first day, but returned for the last two days at the urging of representatives from the Redskins. Over his first three seasons, Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions.