I wish Eric Taylor had been my football coach.

OK, I know how stupid that sounds, saying I’d prefer a fictional TV character over the man who actually coached my high school team all those years ago.

It’s like wishing Martin Sheen was president of the United States. Or that Kiefer Sutherland really has our back when it comes to national security.

The latest episode of “Friday Night Lights” was Coach Taylor (played by the immensely underrated Kyle Chandler) at his best, handling crises on the field and off.

On the field, he helps get Smash into college and agonizes over a quarterback battle that features the youth and talent of J.D. McCoy and the experience and … um …. experience of Matt Saracen.

One of my favorite scenes is when Taylor asks J.D. several questions about the offense and then tells him he needs to add some weight, not by lifting weights or by working out, but by eating some chicken-fried steak.

And just so we don’t forget Taylor’s a man’s man, he talks his wife into stopping for a “scotch-flavored drink” at a dive bar in the middle of the day and later supports her in her jumbotron battle against pretty much the entire town.

The episode — aptly titled “Hello Goodbye” — featured Tyra, Saracen and Smash all facing crossroads as well.

Tyra, not willing to commit to a relationship with Landry, is intrigued by the arrival of bad-boy Cash The Cowboy. It’s obvious he’ll be no good for Tyra. I mean, his name is Cash, he wears a black cowboy hat and pops painkillers he calls “cowboy candy.” The only way the writers could have made him more evil is to have had horns poking through his cowboy hat.

Yep, a train wreck just waiting to happen, but Tyra can’t help herself and poor, old, nerdy Landry is pushed aside again even after professing his love for Tyra (and for the family minivan) while heavily medicated following wisdom-tooth surgery.

Saracen, meanwhile, faces two different crossroads — the return of his mother and the imminent loss of his starting job. Still angry over his mom’s abandoning him, he finally lashes out, telling her she can’t “act like everything is normal. I don’t need your help. I needed it 10 years ago when you left. I don’t need it now.”

After Lorraine admits that maybe she could have been nicer to his mom, Matt softens his stance and agrees to let her help out.

My favorite story line, however, is Smash finally getting a chance to show off his talent at the college level, but only after Taylor interrupts the Texas A&M practice. “Right now, right here,” he tells Smash, “God has placed you here to do what you do best. Go all the way.”

I wrote a couple weeks ago about the chills I got when Taylor delivered the news to Smash that he had gotten him a tryout at A&M. The chills returned in Friday’s episode when Smash got the call from the school and then, on the way out of town, stopped to thank his coach. They quickly hug and Taylor simply says “hit and spin.”

No sappy speeches. No crying. Just one last piece of advice for his player. Perfect.

Jack Bauer couldn’t have done better.