After much talk that Oregon’s Willie Taggart would become the next head coach at Florida State, it appears he finally is going to sign on the dotted line.
On Monday it was reported by some that a deal was already being hammered out, but there were conflicting reports. Now there appears to be a consensus that Taggart is going to leave Oregon to replace Jimbo Fisher at FSU.
BREAKING #Oregon’s Willie Taggart is expected to become the next head coach at #FSU, source tell me.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 5, 2017
.@BruceFeldmanCFB and @Brett_McMurphy both reporting now that Willie Taggart has agreed to become Florida State's next coach.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) December 5, 2017
Oregon did try to keep Taggart in the fold, per Brett McMurphy, but was unable to retain him.
“Even before Fisher left Florida State, a source said Oregon offered Taggart a one-year extension on his existing contract, through 2022, increasing his five-year deal to $18 million. After Fisher accepted the Texas A&M job last week, Oregon increased its offer in hopes of keeping Taggart.”
Taggart, a former quarterback at Western Kentucky in the 1990s, began his coaching career started at his alma mater in 1999. He then coached at South Florida for four seasons before landing the top job at Oregon heading into the 2017 campaign. There, he helped guide the Ducks to a 7-5 record and bowl bid this year.
As a head coach at the collegiate level, Taggart has a career record of 47-50. The past three years, he went 25-9 at USF and Oregon, including three consecutive bowl berths.