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Most indications are that Jimbo Fisher will coach his final game at Florida State this Saturday. As such, FSU is looking ahead and coming up with a list of potential replacements should the 52-year-old coach accept the offer from Texas A&M. Through our various sources, Warchant.com has come up with a group of three leading candidates, and three more that are right on the fence.
Follow-up nuggets on this Hot Board for Warchant.com subscribers
Leading Candidates
Willie Taggart (41)
Currently: Head coach, University of Oregon
Resume: Florida native with eight years of head coaching experience. Turned around floundering programs at both Western Kentucky and South Florida. Just completed his first regular season as Oregon’s head coach. Played quarterback in high school and college before getting his first coaching opportunity at his alma matter, Western Kentucky, in 1999. Coached with Jim Harbaugh for three seasons at Stanford before getting the head coaching job at WKU in 2010.
Salary/Buyout: Current salary is $2.9 million with $150K increases per year. Buyout is $3 million. (Reportedly holds new Oregon offer for $20 million over five years.)
Pros: Top-notch recruiter with strong Florida ties. His up-tempo, spread RPO approach might be more contusive to modern college football and mesh better with the talent on the team. Has a strong assistant staff at Oregon, including OL coach Mario Cristobal and DC Jim Leavitt, who might join him at FSU.
Cons: An overall record 47-50 doesn’t look impressive. His offense would be a dramatic departure from the pro-style system Florida State has always run going back to the Bobby Bowden era. Has only one year of experience as a head coach of a Power 5 program.
Our Take: There’s little doubt that Taggart would make an instant impact on the recruiting trail if he came to Florida State. Considering how FSU’s 2018 recruiting class has fallen apart, and with the upcoming Dec. 20 early signing period, the program desperately needs a coach like Taggart that can hit the ground running and get recruiting back on track. The main question is whether Taggart, who has limited major college head coaching experience, is ready to take on a program the magnitude of Florida State.
