While the uncertainty surrounding Florida State’s offensive coordinator position is frustrating for many Florida State fans, this is not exactly uncharted territory for head coach Willie Taggart.
He has really never known what it’s like to have stability at that spot.
In his first nine years as a head coach, Taggart has had 12 assistant coaches either hold or share the role of offensive coordinator (in several seasons, he has had running game and passing game coordinators, instead of a lone offensive coordinator). Only one time has he returned the same offensive coordinator -- or coordinator combination -- the following year.
Some have left for other opportunities. Some have been fired or reassigned.
But only one tandem -- the duo of Walt Wells and Nick Sheridan, who worked for Taggart at Western Kentucky and USF -- has come back for a second season to guide the offense.
Wells was WKU’s run-game coordinator and offensive line coach during Taggart’s final season there in 2012, and he was offensive coordinator on Taggart’s first staff at USF. Sheridan was the passing game coordinator both seasons.
But after a brutal first season with the Bulls, during which USF ranked 122nd nationally in scoring offense (13.8 points per game) and 123rd in total offense (256.4 yards per game), Wells and Sheridan were both dismissed.
Throughout the rest of Taggart’s tenure as a head coach, it has been a revolving door of assistant coaches tasked with running his offense.
As we wait to find out whether Taggart will bring in Houston offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to replace Walt Bell, who left last week for the head coaching job at UMass, here is a look at the offensive coordinators who have worked under Taggart, why they left, and where they are now:
