Willie Taggart fired by FAU and is running out of Florida schools to coach

Willie Taggart is running out of schools in Florida.

Taggart on Saturday was fired by Florida Atlantic University after three seasons on the job. The firing news came after FAU concluded its season with a 32-31 overtime loss to Western Kentucky. The loss dropped FAU to 5-7.

Though he went 5-4 in 2020 in his first season as coach of the Owls, he posted consecutive 5-7 seasons, resulting in his firing.

“This evening, we made a change in leadership with the Florida Atlantic University football program. It was a difficult decision, as we have tremendous respect for Willie Taggart. He has represented FAU with class and character. However, the lack of on-field success needed to be addressed as we look toward the future,” the school said in a statement.

That’s rough news for Taggart, who is running out of schools in Florida to coach.

The 46-year-old has been the head coach at South Florida, Florida State and now Florida Atlantic. He was a hot candidate after turning South Florida around to a 10-2 season in 2016. That helped Taggart get hired by Oregon, but he blew that by leaving after one year to go to Florida State. The Seminoles had no patience for him and fired him after he went 9-12.

Taggart sabotaged himself by ditching Oregon so quickly. But he wasn’t given much time at either Florida State or FAU. Now, he might have to drop down to an assistant coaching role since he’s been a head coach at five schools since 2010 and been fired twice in a row.

If he’s lucky, maybe South Florida will take him back.