Just one day after Jimbo Fisher was officially introduced as the new head coach at Texas A&M, Florida state has reportedly landed its top target to replace him.
Sources have informed college football reporter Brett McMurphy that Willie Taggart has agreed to a deal to become the next head coach at Florida State. According to McMurphy, Taggart has been FSU’s top priority since it became clear that Fisher was leaving. While Taggart is said to have been happy in his first year at Oregon, he is a Florida native and could not pass up the opportunity to coach one of the biggest programs in his home state.
Taggart coached at South Florida before he took the Ducks job, and he is considered a strong recruiter in the state. That likely has a lot to do with why Florida State made him a priority.
McMurphy also confirmed a previous report that Oregon offered to give Taggart a raise, even offering the coach a one-year extension before Fisher left Florida State. Ultimately, it seems like there was nothing the Ducks could do to stop Taggart from leaving.
The swipe Fisher took at Florida State on Monday made it clear that his relationship with school administrators was tarnished, so landing Taggart is probably as good of a consolation prize as the Seminoles could have hoped for.
