There are plenty of questions surrounding Florida State football and Willie Taggart's future following the Seminoles' disappointing 27-10 setback to the rival Miami Hurricanes. In this week's Five Takes, we address the elephant in the room -- is it time for FSU's administration to move on from Willie Taggart? Also, is placing the blame on Jimbo Fisher too much of an excuse, and how expensive is Taggart's buyout versus the loss of revenue associated with declining ticket sales and booster donations?
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1. Is it time for FSU to move on from Willie Taggart?
The only question on the minds of Florida State fans isn’t whether the ‘Noles will beat Boston College this Saturday or win enough games to make it to a bowl … it’s whether Willie Taggart will make it past this season as head football coach.
It was another disappointing Saturday for the Garnet and Gold with the Hurricanes pounding out a convincing 27-10 victory in Doak Campbell Stadium. Another setback to an in-state rival has many convinced that the loss was the final straw and essentially the end of the Taggart era at Florida State. Based on pretty much all the objective criteria, it’s tough to argue.
First, here’s a rundown of FSU's wins and losses under Willie Taggart:
Overall Record: 9-12
ACC Record: 6-9
Record vs. Power-5 schools: 6-11
Record vs. rivals (Miami, UF, Clemson): 0-5
With the loss Saturday, FSU’s 2019 record is now 4-5 -- the exact record it had at this point last season. With that in mind, I asked Taggart in his postgame press conference how this team any different from last year’s when the record hasn’t changed. He cited statistics as evidence of improvement but admitted that fans will judge this team by wins and losses.
“They (fans) don't want to hear all the other stuff. They want to win,” explained Taggart. “We've got to find a way to win ball games. We know what we've got going on inside and our guys are fighting. Again, we've got to find a way to win. I don't think you're going to please anyone until you win ball games. That's our job. That's my job. To find a way and get this program back to where it belongs.”
Sorry, but according to a pretty good coach (Bill Parcells): “You are what your record says you are.”
This is a 4-5 team.
