Consider the Taggart era at Florida State underway. Earlier this month, FSU made Willie Taggart its head coach to replace Jimbo Fisher, who bolted for Texas A&M.
Most of the fan base has seemed to welcome Taggart with open arms while others have been critical of his 47-50 overall record and propensity to leave programs after just a few years. While there are obviously plenty of reasons to believe Taggart will be successful at FSU, here are some notable accomplishments at each of his previous FBS stops:
Stanford, Running Backs Coach (2007-09)
In his final season at Stanford, Taggart was the position coach for the nation’s leading rusher in Toby Gerhart. Gerhart, under Taggart’s tutelage, rushed for 1,871 yards in 2009 and 28 touchdowns, which ranks ninth in college football history.
Gerhart finished as runner-up to Alabama’s Mark Ingram for the Heisman Trophy in one of the closer Heisman votes ever. Taggart’s teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in rushing in each of his final two years as running backs coach at Stanford.
Western Kentucky, Head Coach (2010-12)
At Western Kentucky, Taggart took a team that was 2-22 in two seasons as full members of FBS to winning seasons in each of his final two years. After going 2-10 in 2010, Taggart’s Hilltoppers put together 7-5 seasons in 2011 and 2012. Although he didn’t coach in the bowl, Taggart led Western Kentucky to its first-ever bowl appearance as an FBS school — the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against Central Michigan — in 2012.
In 2012, Taggart also guided Western Kentucky to its first win over a Power 5 team upon entering FBS. The Hilltoppers used an overtime 2-point conversion to down Kentucky, 32-31.
South Florida, Head Coach (2013-16)
Taggart’s longest stint at any FBS program was his four years spent as South Florida head coach. The Bulls were 8-16 in the two years prior and the turnaround at South Florida was gradual as Taggart went just 6-18 in his first two seasons in Tampa.
After an 8-5 season in 2015, Taggart coached USF to its first-ever ranked finish in 2016. Although he did not coach in the 46-39 Birmingham Bowl victory over South Carolina, the Bulls finished with a school-record 11 wins and a No. 19 final ranking in both the AP and Amway Coaches Poll.
As a recruiter, Taggart’s Bulls took the top class in the American Athletic Conference twice in four cycles. It was under Taggart that USF quarterback Quinton Flowers became the first player in school-history to win Offensive Player of the Year in his conference. It came in a season where the Bulls ranked 11th nationally in total offense and fourth in points per game.
Oregon, Head Coach (2017)
In his only season at Oregon, Taggart took a team that finished 4-8 in 2016 to seven wins in the regular season despite starting quarterback Justin Herbert missing five games. The Ducks were 6-1 when Herbert played.
Oregon still managed to finish in the top 25 nationally in both total and scoring offense. The 3-win improvement ranked sixth among Power 5 programs during the regular season behind only Virginia, Iowa State, Michigan State, Arizona and Georgia. Prior to leaving, Taggart had the Ducks on pace to finish with their best recruiting class in the history of the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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