Hmm. Imagine how Oregon fans must feel. Taggart leaves after one year for FSU, and they missed getting Chip Kelly back by a few weeks to an in-conference rival.
Ouch.
I'm not 100% sold on Taggart as a winner at the elite level. I think FSU can do better.
Reporting live from FSU's campus, here are a few reasons that myself and many other FSU students believe that Taggart is our best option:
1) For the last several years, FSU has been top 5-10 in recruiting classes consistently. Taggart has Oregon set to bring in one of if not their best recruiting class of all time. We believe that with him as coach, recruiting would not drop off.
2) He has left every program he been at better than he found it
3) FSU has had discipline problems off of the field, and we think a culture change with a new coaching staff might decrease those. To expand on this point, I attended one of Taggart's football camps as a player when he was at USF. He is a great man and easily relates to players. I also think there is value in being the first black head football coach in FSU history---at a predominantly white institution but on a football team with 90% black players, that is very valuable in making this university a home for the student-athletes.
I hope that Jimbo makes it official today that he is leaving, and then by the end of the weekend Taggart is announced as the head ball coach.