FAU hires Willie Taggart to become the program’s first minority head coach

FAU’s coaching search lasted less than a week as FAU Athletic Director Brian White has decided to hire former Florida State head coach Willie Taggart as the new head coach.

Willie Taggart’s ties to the Sunshine State should be very familiar to FAU fans as he was the head coach at USF before ending up in Tallahassee. During his time as USF’s head coach he engineered a terrific rebuild with NFL players such as Marlon Mack and one of the best players in the nation in QB Quinton Flowers.

Before USF, Taggart mined the Sunshine State at WKU and set the foundation for the Tops’ eventual dominance in C-USA. At WKU and USF, Taggart went 40-45 with four winning season and three bowl games. Although the record looks lackluster, both WKU and USF were in terrible places before he arrived. Taggart has a proven track record of winning in the G5 and should have continued success at FAU. This will be the first job he will not inherit a rebuild as the Owls have a talented roster coming back in 2020, headlined by Chris Robsion and BJ Emmons.

On paper this should be a terrific fit as Taggart aims to prove that his tenure at FSU should not define him as a head coach. He’s a great recruiter and is known for having an exciting offense.

A Bradenton, Florida, native, Taggart has mentioned many times that he would like to be the first black head coach to ever win a national title. For today, Taggart will have to settle for breaking down the barrier of becoming the first black head coach in FAU history.