South Alabama will play the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl in its home state on Saturday, but the game is also a homecoming for Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor.

Taylor, 43, grew up in the Mobile County community of Mount Vernon and starred at Citronelle High School. The son of 1970s Alabama running back James Taylor, he later found success with the Crimson Tide as a walk-on wide receiver and special teams ace in the early 2000s and then began his coaching career as an assistant under Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide staff in 2007.

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“It’s really special for me,” Taylor said of coaching in his home state. “First, many of our family and friends can’t make it to Kalamazoo, Michigan to watch us play, so we can come home and they’ll support us and rally around us, an expression of love.” We’ve been invited ever since and accepted the invitation, it was simply phenomenal. There are a lot of people coming out to represent the Broncos, which is special.”

Taylor’s Broncos are 6-6 in his second season after improving by two games from a 4-8 record in his debut in 2023. Western Michigan defeated arch-rival Eastern Michigan 26-18 in its final game of the regular season to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2021.

When Taylor takes his team onto the field at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery on Saturday night, he will do so with an old friend and fellow coach on the other sideline. South Alabama’s Major Applewhite – whose team is also 6-6 this season – was Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2007 when Taylor was hired as a GA.

“I have a lot of respect for what Lance did up there,” Applewhite said. “I obviously know him from his time at Alabama. … He did a great job his first year – last year – and then got his team bowl eligibility his second year. And if you look at their roster, it’s a lot of juniors and seniors. I know the (running) back is an underclassman, but most of the starters are juniors or seniors. So it’s a testament to him putting his team together, keeping his team together and improving from Year 1 to Year 2.”

Like many young coaches throughout the college game, it was Saban who launched Taylor’s career. He was in Tuscaloosa, rehabilitating from an injury sustained playing indoor football, when Geoff Collins – then Alabama’s director of player personnel – informed him that Saban had an opening for a graduate assistant.

Taylor got the job, beginning a nearly two-decade coaching career that took him to Appalachian State (2009), Stanford (2014-16), Notre Dame (2019-21) and Louisville (2022), in addition to stops in the NFL the New York Jets (2010-12) and the Carolina Panthers (2013, 2017-18). He was Louisville’s offensive coordinator when he was hired at Western Michigan, but said he owes it all to Saban taking a chance on him about 17 years ago.

“It was perfect for me,” Taylor said of his time as an Alabama GA. “As a first-time coach, I’m really learning what it takes to be successful. I soaked up every minute of it. I was a young man, had no family, no children, so every minute I spent in the building I wanted to do it because I wanted to be successful as a coach.

“I wanted to know what it takes to be great. I also wanted to prove that I could do it. For me it was the perfect addition at the time. It really showed me that I had a calling.”

Applewhite left Alabama after the 2007 season to join the team at Texas (where he had played quarterback from 1998 to 2001), but said he continued to admire his former colleague from afar. Applewhite returned to Saban’s staff as an analyst in 2019 and helped the Crimson Tide to a national championship in 2020 before joining South Alabama’s staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the following year.

“(Taylor) showed class, worked hard, was honest — all the great virtues you want,” Applewhite said. “Did what he said he would do and worked hard. Was also a good football coach, knows football, all those things. But it was more personal than footballing qualities, the way he was, just a stylish person who worked hard and was honest. I think those are some of the best things people can say about you.”

Taylor had equally glowing things to say about Applewhite, who took over as South Alabama’s head coach when Kane Wommack left this January to become Alabama’s defensive coordinator. Taylor and Applewhite only worked together briefly, but that time clearly left an impression on the younger coach.

“Firstly, Major is nothing short of brilliant, the way he sees the game, makes his play calls and plans the game,” Taylor said. “And for me it was a transition from player to coach and it was a fantastic first year learning under him. He was great for me because it wasn’t like, “Hey, I have to do these things because you’re the GA.” He really helped me grow and learn the hows and whys of what it takes to be a to be a really good coach. We have stayed in touch ever since. It was amazing to be there that first year and watch Coach Saban build it from the ground up. And then Major has a big part in it.

“A lot of what we do now in our program goes back to the first days there at Alabama in 2007-08. First, how we designed the program by watching coach Saban, but also what we do offensively by being around Major.”

The Salute to Veterans Bowl begins Saturday at 8 p.m. with televised coverage on ESPN.