David Taylor was hailed by the Oklahoma top brass as the modern-day torchbearer of US wrestling. But for Taylor, becoming the coach of the Cowboys wrestling program also meant he was becoming part of a unit that had “genuine passion” for the sport. It was a perfect match, although nobody knew how it would go. It was his first try at being a head coach, and the Cowboys job came with expectations.

Well, safe to say, it’s Taylor who has surprised everyone. Since taking charge on May 10, 2024, he has looked so good in his new role. One can say they didn’t see the NCAA success coming. But before the dust could settle, David Taylor’s boys had gone and done it again, this time on a bigger stage. Surely, he has a part to play in this, doesn’t he? The real question is, how does he keep delivering the right results? Well, it seems by keeping things lighthearted, even during high-stakes events.

For the Cowboys and Taylor, himself as their coach, the Final X tournament is not just a tournament to win. It’s a way a young collegiate gets to represent his country. The bigger the glory, the more commitment you require: more focus, more concentration. David Taylor’s men have that in plenty. But some behind-the-scenes footage from the coach himself adds another layer to this successful group of youngsters.

Posted on June 15 after the Final X tournament was done, the clip starts with Taylor calmly stating, “We’re just real serious right now.” Oh, but the switchover takes us on a ride with the Cowboys wrestlers goofing around like a bunch of carefree men. The mood was lit, with Final X runner-up Joey McKenna, champion in the 86-kg weight class Zahid Valencia, and the whole unit vibing to the fun as a member of the Cowboys team broke out his dance skills.

And David Taylor seems to have enjoyed the moves every bit as he synced it to the hip-hop beats of ‘Rollin Like a Redneck’ by Jawga Boyz. Hey, we loved it too, to be honest. The man’s got mad skills on the floor. Everyone was their kind of fun. And Captain America wasn’t left out. If anything, 2025 US Open Champ Wyatt Hendrickson was being his version of a prankster, snacking on someone else’s carrot. David Taylor exclaimed, “That’s for the break!”

When you put this together with other Cowboy RTC posts on Twitter, what you get is how David Taylor has got the balance right. They keep it lighthearted and jocular when they need to. But when it’s time to get things done, there’s no space for lapses. In fact, the Cowboys posted another video on Twitter on June 12 when he was giving invaluable advice to his students. That you can’t prepare for everything. His exact words were, “Go into a match, you know, and like you’re like sometimes you want to wrestle with the plan. Sometimes you have no plan. Sometimes you gotta let it rip, right?”

And his go-to reference to make his boys understand was equally goofy, a 2010 comedy movie, MacGruber. You can understand how the Olympic champion keeps it lighthearted. But the message Taylor wanted to convey was very important. MacGruber would say, “Let’s see what happens.” Sometimes, you have to improvise. You have to think outside the box and react to the situation. Taylor explained, “You have a perfect plan, game plan – ‘I’m gonna go shoot this shot.’ And then sometimes, you just gotta wing it.”

Being a multiple-time world champion, David Taylor knows how to do it all. And his wisdom definitely has value. Just see how his boys at Oklahoma are doing under his guidance.

A look at David Taylor’s boys at Oklahoma and their accomplishments

A former Penn State NCAA champion, Taylor took the brave decision to start his own journey with the Cowboys. And in his first season, the Cowboys went straight from 10th to 3rd. It looks more impressive when you see that the program finished 18th in 2023 and 14th in 2022. Besides scoring 102.5 points in the 2024-25 season, the Cowboys also scored 2 individual titles.

One came through Dean Hamiti in the 174 lbs category. The second title was the colossal Wyatt Hendrickson win over Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. That sent shockwaves all over the nation, with Steveson losing his first NCAA game in 6 years. Hendrickson has continued his meteoric rise, now claiming a berth in the USA Wrestling World Team that will go to the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

He beat Trent Hillger in the best of 3 ties. The first game was a regulation 10-0 win via a tech fall. But Hillger gave the Cowboys juggernaut a proper fight, with 34 points being scored in the match. Eventually, Hendrickson won 20-14 to join Zahid Valencia on the US World Team. The former Arizona wrestler beat 4-time world champion Kyle Dake in the biggest match of the event. There’s space for one more Cowboy to join the US team. Jax Forrest’s match was postponed and will take place on July 14.

Do you know David Taylor’s boys can bring home a gold from Croatia? Let us know in the comments!