Florida

Florida State Seminoles Hire Willie Taggart as Head Football Coach

After several days looking for the next person to lead their football program, the Florida State Seminoles have their new head coach.

Willie Taggart will become the newest head coach for the school, agreeing to a deal to leave his job as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks to return to his home state of Florida and lead the Seminoles starting with the 2018 season.

The school confirmed the hire shortly before 5 p.m. on their website.

A native of Bradenton, Taggart was an All-State quarterback in high school before heading to Western Kentucky, He spent eight seasons at his alma mater, which included a stint as co-offensive coordinator when they won the 2002 national title, before spending three seasons as the running backs coach at Stanford and later returning to his alma mater in 2010 as head coach.

The 41-year-old Taggart was hired by South Florida in 2013 and led the Bulls from a 2-10 record his first season to a 10-2 record in 2016 before being hired by the Ducks.

Taggart will take over for Fisher, who spent eight seasons in Tallahassee and won a national title and three ACC crowns but went through a rocky final week on the job. Taggart is expected to bring in several top assistants, many with ties to the state of Florida.

Taggart will become the first full time African-American head coach in program history, as he takes over for interim head coach and longtime FSU football player and coach Odell Haggins – who broke that barrier when he led the Seminoles to a win over Louisiana Monroe this past weekend.

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