There’s been a rumor floating around that Florida State may look to buy out Willie Taggart’s contract and go after Urban Meyer as his replacement.
Zach Barnett of Football Scoop reported that “Florida State has engaged its donor class about making a change at the head coaching position rather than give Taggart a third chance to turn Seminole football around.” He also notes that his sources tell him the university would target Urban Meyer to replace Taggart in such a scenario.
Let’s just say, Florida State athletic director David Coburn is not amused by this report, and he had a morbid way of showing that.
“If Coach were hit by a bus tomorrow, we would not target Coach Meyer, period,” Coburn said, per the Tallahassee Democrat. “I say that with all due respect to Coach Meyer, but we would not target Steve Spurrier either.”
Coburn elaborated, calling any reports about FSU replacing Taggart “complete nonsense.”
“There is a lot of complete nonsense floating around out there right now, and it is a shame that the Democrat and I even have to address it,” he said. “But, that is the world we live in now. People are looking for clicks, not for real information. Virtually all of this stuff is complete fabrication, and it is particularly disturbing when supposedly responsible publications put this junk out there, and then people start to believe it.”
That there are rumors about Florida State looking to move on from Taggart should come as a surprise to nobody. The football program has been a disappointment, going 8-11 since he took over as a splashy hire after spending one year at Oregon.
Even worse, in his second season at Florida State the Seminoles haven’t taken any positive steps, most recently losing to Wake Forest after being blown out by Clemson.