College Football: 10 coaches on the hot seat entering 2019 season

2. Willie Taggart, Florida State

Willie Taggart is the other second-year coach on this list (along with Kevin Sumlin). Unlike Sumlin, Taggart finds himself in much more of a pressure cooker in Tallahassee than what Sumlin is in out in the desert of Tucson.

Florida State has a proud tradition and the shadow of Bobby Bowden casts itself over Bobby-Dodd stadium. He inherited a bigger mess than he or people outside FSU originally thought.

Although former coach Jimbo Fisher recruited some top recruiting classes, their woes along the offensive were glaring during his last three seasons at Florida State. According to Matt Baker of TampaBay.com, the issues with player leadership manifested itself in six losses by 19 points or more in Taggart’s first season. Under Fisher, though, the Seminoles got blown out at least once every year in his last four seasons including a 32-point drubbing at the hands of the Boston College Eagles.

One constant theme of Taggart’s pressers was attempting to find players that wanted to play. That program is devoid of player leadership, and they aren’t as talented as people think especially up front.

The issues that Fisher left doesn’t completely absolve Taggart of the Seminoles’ woes. Taggart is known as a recruiter that knows Florida, but he’s been unable to land a quarterback to compete with James Blackman and no, bringing in Alex Hornibrook doesn’t count. Hornibrook doesn’t fit Taggart’s scheme.

When Taggart’s system was most productive — at South Florida — he had dual-threat quarterback Quinton Flowers. Blackman fits the description, but there’s no depth behind him.

If they have games where they don’t look ready or would rather be studying for their Sociology 205 exam, Taggart’s run at Florida State might be over before it begins.