There’s a new sheriff in town in Tallahassee and that man is Florida State head football coach Willie Taggart. Taggart hasn’t yet coached his first game for the garnet and gold, but there is already a buzz surrounding the program.
The expectations for Taggart in his first season vary for many. Some are expecting eight or nine wins to build off a disappointing 7-6 season in 2017 while others hope for 10 wins and a New Year’s Six bowl. Vegas has actually given the Seminoles the ninth-best odds to win the national championship.
Taggart, in December, became the 10th full-time head coach of the Seminoles. Some of his predecessors were successful from the start while others weren’t a good fit. Below we count down the best initial seasons for each of the previous nine FSU head coaches:
9. Perry Moss (1959)
Record: 4-6
A 4-6 finish is hardly the worse finish for an FSU head coach making his debut, but Perry Moss’ only season in Tallahassee saw the Seminoles finish three games worse than the prior season. FSU was shut out twice that season, including 42-0 to Georgia.
8. Darrell Mudra (1974)
Record: 1-10
In his first of two seasons in Tallahassee, Darrell Mudra actually did help the Seminoles build on an 0-11 campaign in 1973. Mudra’s only win came against Miami, but as a team, the Seminoles scored fewer than 10 points in five of their 11 games and managed to score more than 20 just twice.
7. Ed Williamson (1947)
Record: 0-5
Ed Williamson gets a bit of a break here, because he was coaching a team that was in its first season as a football program. The Seminoles suffered through a winless campaign and failed to score more than six points in any contest.
6. Bill Peterson (1960)
Record: 3-6-1
Bill Peterson did a lot to bring Florida State football into the modern age, but his first season was slightly worse than his predecessor Perry Moss’. Peterson’s team was shut out four teams, including 3-0 to rival Florida. Peterson however, would spend 11 years in Tallahassee. Only the legendary Bobby Bowden was there longer.
5. Tom Nugent (1953)
Record: 5-5
In Tom Nugent’s first season as FSU head coach, he took a program that had gone just 1-8-1 the year before and coached it to a .500 record. Nugent’s Seminoles finished the year on a 3-game winning streak with victories over Stetson, NC State and Tampa. Nugent would have just one losing season in his six years at Florida State.
4. Larry Jones (1971)
Record: 8-4
Larry Jones was able to build upon a 7-4 finish in the final season under Bill Peterson and coach the Seminoles to eight wins and a Fiesta Bowl berth. Jones had another solid season in 1972 before a dismal 0-11 campaign in 1973 led to his exit.
3. Bobby Bowden (1976)
Record: 5-6
Coming from West Virginia, Bobby Bowden inherited an FSU program that had won just four games in the previous three years and promptly won five games in his first season. The Seminoles started just 2-6, but finished the year with three straight wins over Southern Mississippi, Virginia Tech and North Texas by a combined 11 points. The 5-6 finish would serve as the only losing season for Bowden in 34 years at the helm.
2. Jimbo Fisher (2010)
Record: 10-4
Once a dynasty, Jimbo Fisher inherited a Florida State program in 2010 that had finished 7-6 in three of the four seasons prior to him taking over. Once the school’s offensive coordinator, Fisher led the Seminoles to their first ACC title appearance in five years, their first win over Florida in seven years and their first 10-win season in seven years. FSU also defeated Miami that season in South Florida, 45-17.
1. Don Veller (1948)
Record: 7-1
After taking over a second-year program that was coming off an 0-5 campaign, Don Veller led what remains the greatest single-season turnaround in FSU history. The Seminoles went from winless to 7-1 with the lone blemish being a 14-6 road loss at Erskine College. Two years later, Veller would lead FSU to its first perfect season.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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