Yesterday's blowout loss to a mediocre (at best) Miami team was the last straw and Willie Taggart is out as FSU's head coach. The school says they will launch a nationwide coaching search. One rumor has Bob Stoops as the front runner. And of course there's always Urban Meyer, although that strikes me a bit like making a deal with the devil.
That is the way all of college football feels nowadays. Surprised Taggert had such a short leash, isn't he just midway through his second season?
Wow.... wasn't this guy brought in because he was known to fix programs? Seems like a pretty short leash here... maybe it's not the coaches that are the root problem at FSU?
Where to start: Taggart did have the reputation of a rebuilder, but going into his second season at FSU the same stupid mistakes kept popping up. What really got under my skin is how many times they were flagged on offense for lining up with too many men in the backfield. That shouldn't be happening a year and a half into a new regime. The offensive line is very offensive. I mean they really offensively stink. Recruiting had fallen off badly under the previous coach, but it wasn't getting any better and you could argue it was getting worse. The quarterbacks nearly got killed and two of the best running backs in the country were consistently getting hit in the backfield against Miami. Now the question becomes who's next? SI.com's Pete Thamel argues that the administrative side of things at FSU is also in a shambles, with the President getting set to retire and the Athletic Director he hired seen as a time server.
Of course he had a short leash - FSU is spending millions for a football only dorm/workout/campus like the big boys at 'Bama and Clemson have - boosters are paying through the nose, and they want WINS. In addition, FSU has not had an offensive identity in over two years. Taggert never had a game plan, rotated QBs at random, caused recruitment to fall off a cliff, had no control over a sloppy and undisciplined team, and couldn't reach the young men playing for him. It's going to be a few years before FSU is competitive again, no matter who is the coach.
Editing from my original NSFW response - Yes, Jimbo had slowly circled the drain as he was prepping his exit, laying off on recruiting, etc. It will take time. But, it's worth the wait.
The big rumor is Bob Stoops. Hes denying everying, but coaches always lie about such things. If they can get Stoops before the end of the season, there's a chance of saving the recruiting class and hitting the ground running...especially if they can't get to 6 wins and score the extra practices that go with a bowl game. That's probably the absolute best case scenario, of course. Mark Stoops may be a better bet. He's done a good job at Kentucky, but FSU has a lot more upside.
Since Prime Time couldn't be bothered to finish his schoolwork, he doesn't have a degree and isn't qualified for the job. Warchant.com (a paywalled site) has a headline saying that negotiations with Bob Stoops may be almost done. (They hedged in their clickbait headline by putting a ? after it). Anyway, it's interesting that a quarterback who hadn't been in a single game under Taggart, came in and sparked the offense with his running ability. That's one way to help offset a putrid offensive line, which Taggart never tried.
If they had really wanted him, they would've figured a way around it. I just don't see what he would've brought to the program, beyond name recognition?
He's been coaching his son's high school team and doing well, by the accounts I've seen. That's a long way from being qualified for a job like FSU.
PrimeTime is extremely unqualified, and it would be a stunt. FSU doesn't need stunts, it needs proven results.