Gary Taylor had a feeling this day was coming.

Auburn's new swimming and diving coach, formally hired on Sunday, met his wife, Amy, near campus 11 years ago. She's a 2005 Auburn graduate. She always spoke lovingly of the loveliest village, as graduates often do, and occasionally ruminated about the possibility of one day watching her husband rule the James E. Martin Aquatic Center pool.

That's exactly the role he accepted Tuesday after signing his contract, introducing himself to his new pupils and even squeezing in a few interviews.

"For us, it’s been such a whirlwind," Taylor said. "Auburn connected with me eight days ago. For her, there’s a lot of emotion in it. If there were one or two jobs out there she’d like to see me in in the future, this would be it. It’s something she’s dreamed about."

And him?

"When you think of SEC programs, certainly swimming a diving-wise, Auburn comes to the forefront," he said. "I’m really, really proud to be here."

There is work to be done. Auburn won 12 NCAA team titles between 1997-2007, but haven't finished better than 6th at the NCAA meet since then. In fact, the Tigers haven't won an SEC team title since 2010.

Taylor knows something about winning. He spent the past six seasons at N.C. State, including the last two as associate head coach, and the Wolfpack won five Atlantic Coast Conference team championships during that period. That run includes four consecutive men's titles. Also, the NCSU men's team has finished fourth at the NCAA meet during each of the past three seasons.

Can Auburn reach those heights and perhaps more? Taylor is expecting it.

"(Auburn is) still expected to win now. I really believe that every body involved with the program — they want to win yesterday," Taylor said. "If I didn’t think I could do that, I wouldn’t be here. I know I’m going to be under the microscope and I’m going to be judged. If I didn’t want that, I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you and I wouldn’t have been sitting in front of the team 15 minutes ago."

Taylor said his wife's connection to Auburn and the program's championship heritage were big selling points. Still, he seemed most intrigued by his new boss. Athletic director Allen Greene, himself a newcomer to the Auburn scene, seemed to strike a chord with Taylor and gave the Tigers' newest coach confidence that he has the entire department's support.

"Allen’s very much in that same boat right now," Taylor said. "He’s a young guy who’s been dedicated to hard work, getting to know people, doing the right things, aspiring to dream of big things. Now he’s in an outstanding position — as am I. I saw an athletic director who can connect with people very quickly. He knows that that the connection you have with your people is A-1 important. I see a lot of me in him — and that’s really exciting to me."

Auburn will open its 2018-19 season in October.