- to Eric in Underdogs
Tami Taylor (portrayed by Connie Britton) is a main character on the Friday Night Lights television series. Tami is currently the dean of admissions at Braemore College in Philadelphia. She was previously the guidance counselor at Dillon High School. Tami is the wife of Eric Taylor and mother of Julie Taylor and Gracie Belle Taylor.
Personality and Traits[]
Tami Taylor prides herself on her ability to listen and connect to the children she works with. What she has done both as a principal and counselor is a testament to her amazing compassion and open-heartedness. She occasionally makes emotionally impulsive decisions, but is always first to admit her mistakes. Tami often acts as a sounding board for her husband and provides an ear and thoughtful advice for many of the young women in Dillon, especially Tyra, Lyla, and her daughter Julie.
Appearance[]
Relationships[]
- Main article: Tami's Relationships
Eric Taylor[]
They have a strong relationship, and while they get into fights, they always find a way to resolved them. It is stated they married in their early twenties, and that he was the reason that she got back on track in school.
Julie Taylor[]
She did not approve of her daughter's friendship with the rebellious, older Tyra Collette at first, but began to accept it when she felt guilty for treating Tyra so badly. Tami also became a surprise mentor to Tyra, giving her confidence to succeed in life and go on to college. As for her daughter's relationship with Matt Saracen, Tami was a lot more reasonable than her better half, who coaches Saracen (the quarterback) on the field. But she, too, expressed great disapproval at the thought of her daughter starting a sexual relationship so young. Both mother and daughter struggled to deal with each other when Gracie was born, as Julie didn't want anything to do with her new baby sister or help her mother out.
Gracie Bell Taylor[]
Gracie Belle was born in summer 2007. Tami often calls her "sweet girl."
Shelley Hayes[]
Sister
Appearances[]
| Season 1 | |
| Pilot | Debut |
| Eyes Wide Open | Appears |
| Wind Sprints | Appears |
| Who's Your Daddy? | Appears |
| Git'er Done | Appears |
| El Accidente | Appears |
| Homecoming | Appears |
| Crossing the Line | Appears |
| Full Hearts | Appears |
| It's Different for Girls | Appears |
| Nevermind | Appears |
| What to Do While You're Waiting | Appears |
| Little Girl I Wanna Marry You | Appears |
| Upping the Ante | Appears |
| Blinders | Appears |
| Black Eyes and Broken Hearts | Appears |
| I Think We Should Have Sex | Appears |
| Extended Families | Appears |
| Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes | Appears |
| Mud Bowl | Appears |
| Best Laid Plans | Appears |
| State | Appears |
| Season 2 | |
| Last Days of Summer | Appears |
| Bad Ideas | Appears |
| Are You Ready for Friday Night? | Appears |
| Backfire | Appears |
| Let's Get It On | Appears |
| How Did I Get Here? | Appears |
| Pantherama! | Appears |
| Seeing Other People | Appears |
| The Confession | Appears |
| There Goes the Neighborhood | Appears |
| Jumping the Gun | Appears |
| Who Do You Think You Are? | Appears |
| Humble Pie | Appears |
| Leave No One Behind | Appears |
| May the Best Man Win | Appears |
| Season 3 | |
| I Knew You When | Appears |
| Tami Knows Best | Appears |
| How the Other Half Lives | Appears |
| Hello, Goodbye | Appears |
| Every Rose Has Its Thorn | Appears |
| It Ain't Easy Being J.D. McCoy | Appears |
| Keeping Up Appearances | Appears |
| New York, New York | Appears |
| Game of the Week | Appears |
| The Giving Tree | Appears |
| A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall | Appears |
| Underdogs | Appears |
| Tomorrow Blues | Appears |
| Season 4 | |
| East of Dillon | Appears |
| After the Fall | Appears |
| In the Skin of a Lion | Appears |
| A Sort of Homecoming | Appears |
| The Son | Appears |
| Stay | Appears |
| In the Bag | Appears |
| Toilet Bowl | Appears |
| The Lights in Carroll Park | Appears |
| I Can't | Appears |
| Injury List | Appears |
| Laboring | Appears |
| Thanksgiving | Appears |
| Season 5 | |
| Expectations | Appears |
| On the Outside Looking In | Appears |
| The Right Hand of the Father | Appears |
| Keep Looking | Appears |
| Kingdom | Appears |
| Swerve | Appears |
| Perfect Record | Appears |
| Fracture | Appears |
| Gut Check | Appears |
| Don't Go | Appears |
| The March | Appears |
| Texas Whatever | Appears |
| Always | Final |
Quotes[]
- First Line: (to Eric Taylor) "Hey." - Pilot
- Final Line: (to Eric): "You ready to go home?" - Always
Season 1[]
With the promotion of her husband to head coach of the Dillon High football team, Tami and her family are now included in the "social elite" of Dillon. Not content with being a trophy wife and attending "book clubs", she accepts the guidance counselor position at the school. As guidance counselor, she deals with student problems from academic ineligibility to the insecurities of a rally girl and her "responsibilities" to her Panther. Through it all, Tami remained a devoted wife and mother. She is also her husband's sounding board for difficult decisions; and as the team prepares for State, she is the anchor and stabilizer of the team's anchor and stabilizer.
With the state championship game fast approaching, Tami received news that she is expecting. This brought up a serious question for her and her husband, as they had to reconsider separating their family as they had originally decided.
Season 2[]
As the baby gets closer and closer to being due, Eric's absence took an increasing toll on Tami, who got little help from adrift daughter Julie. After the birth of Gracie Belle, Eric decides to resign from his position at TMU and return to Dillon. With their family together again, Tami looked towards returning to work, but had issues with separation from Gracie Belle. This led to an overextended visit from her sister Shelley Hayes.
3 weeks before the playoffs began, Tami's ex-boyfriend Mo McArnold arrives in Dillon for real estate business and a hospital opening. This leads to a drunken stand-off between Eric and Mo over some bad history, with Eric justifying to Julie as, "I was defending your momma's honor."
Season 3[]
Tami began the 2008-2009 school year as principal of Dillon High. She was immediately bombarded with budgeting issues, issues that extend throughout the school year. She did an admirable job changing the "football first" attitude at Dillon, much to the chagrin of the boosters and Buddy Garrity, but earned the respect of her colleagues, even earning Dillon High recognition as a "National Blue Ribbon School." Tami was also an integral part of Tyra Collete's acceptance into UT as well as rectifying the division between Buddy and his daughter Lyla Garrity and helping her attend Vanderbilt.
Upset with the boosters for shelling out money for a gratuitous Jumbo-Tron when school facilities need desperate financial help, Tami redirects the funds for the Jumbo-Tron to academics. This does not go over well the boosters or Mayor Rodell.
Season 4[]
Tami is forced to redistrict the students of Dillon to their proper schools, including star Panthers running back Luke Cafferty after it is discovered that he had been using a phony address to attend West Dillon High. This makes her extremely unpopular with Panthers fans, as it is perceived that she gave Eric a gift over at East Dillon. She is asked by <nowiki><nowiki>[[Tim Riggins]] to counsel [[Becky Sproles]]</nowiki></nowiki> when Becky gets pregnant. This leads to Luke Cafferty's mom becoming infuriated when Becky chooses to get an abortion and ends up getting Tami to resign as West Dillon principal to become East Dillon counselor.