New FAU coach Willie Taggart discusses Florida State firing. Here’s what he said.
Willie Taggart was introduced as Florida Atlantic’s head coach at a news conference on Thursday.
During his media availability, Taggart was asked about his dismissal from Florida State.
“It’s tough when [FSU athletic director] David [Coburn] had to tell you that,” Taggart told the Palm Beach Post. “He really didn’t want to tell me that, but he had to. It’s part of the business. There’s no ill will. I know I gave it my all, and I felt like it was going in the right direction.”
Taggart also addressed what he learned from his time in Tallahassee, which lasted less than two years, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“Wow,” Taggart told the outlet. “You gotta win fast. I thought we had things going in the right direction and unfortunately we just didn’t get enough time to finish it. Florida State is a prideful place with great tradition, and they’ve never been in a situation like that before. No one there really knew how to get out of it ... they just wanted to win again. It don’t work that way.”
Taggart went 9-12 as FSU’s head coach and was fired Nov. 3, a day after losing to rival Miami. He’s owed roughly $18 million in a buyout from FSU, though some of that is offset from his deal with FAU.
The Owls are paying Taggart $750,000 per year, and FSU will save roughly $3 million over four years from the $18 million buyout, according to multiple reports.
Taggart, a Manatee County native who grew up in Palmetto and played at Bradenton’s Manatee High, was linked as a potential target to return to coach at USF.
However, the Bulls chose Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, who was introduced this week. That left the door open for FAU, who lost Lane Kiffin to the head coaching job at Ole Miss, to snag Taggart, who previously turned around his alma mater, Western Kentucky and USF before coaching at Oregon for one season and the past two at FSU.
