Apr 20, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles helmet during the Spring Showcase at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Former FSU football head coach considered one of the worst hires of the past decade

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Jackson Bakich | Last updated May 6, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Florida State has one of the greatest, fastest-rising programs in college football, considering the 150+ year history of the sport at the collegiate level. Despite fielding some squads in the early 1900s, FSU football's history truly begins after the Second World War when the university became coeducational for good.

The football program was the youngest addition to the Power 5 when it joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in the early 1990s. Once UCF joined the Big 12 in 2023, it was no longer the youngest program in major college football.

With that history — three national championships, three Heisman Trophy winners, and 16 conference titles — comes a lot of pride.

And with pride comes pressure.

When Florida State hired Willie Taggart in December of 2017, it felt like a match made in heaven. The Seminoles were coming off a downslide, just a few years removed from a national championship. Taggart grew up a Florida State fan and had a history of not only recruiting the state but also of turning programs around. He got USF to 10 wins and made Oregon into a bowl-eligible program after a 4-8 season.

Players were mandated to learn the fight song, black uniforms were featured the first week of the season in front of a packed Doak Campbell Stadium on Labor Day weekend.

But then toe met leather.

Taggart would end up going 9-12 during his time as FSU's head coach and was fired in just his second season after losing 27-10 to Miami at home.

Will Backus of CBS Sports describes the hire of Taggart as the fourth worst (out of 15) in the past 10 years.

Backus wrote:

"Taggart had an interesting pedigree when he arrived at Florida State. He spent just one season with Oregon beforehand, leading the Ducks to a 7-5 record. Prior to that, he coached at Western Kentucky (2010-12) and South Florida (2013-16) with just a 40-45 record combined. He did build South Florida from a 2-10 team in 2013 to 10-2 in his final year with the program while steadily building it into a competitor. He inherited a relatively talented Seminoles roster that was in stable condition after coach Jimbo Fisher resigned, but he was fired after winning just nine games in two seasons. To add insult to injury, Taggart's firing incurred a near-$18 million buyout for the Seminoles."Will Backus, CBS Sports

The appointment of Taggart was not a bright spot for the Seminoles' football program, but it led the way to Mike Norvell's tenure in Tallahassee.

The 'Noles will look to bounce back from a 2-10 season in 2024. They open their 2025 campaign with Alabama at home on Aug. 30.