Florida State football: Firing Willie Taggart was not the right move

Florida State football has just announced the firing of head coach Willie Taggart after just two seasons. This isn’t the best move for the Seminoles.

Willie Taggart’s firing from Florida State comes on the heels of a 27-10 Seminoles loss to Miami. It was the third straight Seminole loss to the Hurricanes, which hasn’t happened in this annual rivalry since 2002 to 2004. Taggart will finish his time in charge at FSU with a 9-12 overall record.

If Florida State was looking for an answer in the post-Jimbo Fisher landscape of college coaches, this wasn’t it.

Taggart built his reputation in part by building South Florida into a winning program between the years of 2013 and 2016. The Bulls went from 2-10 in Taggart’s first season to 10-2 in his fourth before his eventual departure to Oregon. He spent only one year with the Ducks, finishing with a 7-5 record before accepting the Florida State position.

College programs aren’t built in a day. Taggart won 6 games and lost 18 during first two seasons at South Florida. If Florida State was expecting an all-around bounce back to national relevancy after the 7-6 finish in 2017, did it really expect Taggart to work his magic in less than two full years?

Sure, Florida State struggled mightily during Taggart’s tenure. A 4-5 mark so far this season, followed by a 5-7 finish last year, is not acceptable to the Seminole fanbase. Last year marked the first time since 1981 that Florida State did not play in a bowl game. Perhaps too many Seminole fans wanted to compare Taggart and legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who finished 10-2 in his second season after a 5-6 maiden voyage in 1975.

It’s understandable to be frustrated after the lack of on-field success for the past two seasons, especially given the talent and the expectations in Tallahassee. Losses to Syracuse, Wake Forest, N.C. State, and Virginia Tech during the past two seasons simply won’t cut it at one of college football’s top 20 programs.

But giving a head coach less than two seasons to implement his system, his philosophy, and his seeds isn’t enough time. Jimbo Fisher’s high-priced departure to Texas A&M surely stings the FSU faithful, but does the next head coach get exactly 21 games before the verdict is placed on him, too?

The microwave generation has given way to the iPhone generation in terms of expecting instant results, and this firing by Florida State reeks of a hasty move and inflated, immediate expectations.