No one likes being used by those with ulterior motives. When former head football coach Willie Taggart bailed on the University of Oregon for his dream job at Florida State University, I was angry. My frustration was not only placed on Taggart, but also on the UO for allowing Taggart to walk out on the program after only one season.
With Chip Kelly at the helm, Duck fans became accustomed to winning. His tenure was followed up by Mark Helfrich, who was fired after a disappointing 4-8 season that culminated with a devastating loss in the Civil War.
Enter Taggart, the recruiting genius poised to turn the program in the right direction. After holding head positions at Western Kentucky and the University of South Florida, Taggart supposedly proved his ability to turn teams around. He seemed able to rejuvenate Oregon after their fall from grace.
Taggart led Oregon to a 7-5 record and a top-20 recruiting class in 2017. Oregon had the number one recruiting class in the country before Taggart left for FSU, which was his dream coaching job. Oregon was a stepping stone back to his home state of Florida. Losing such talent hurt more than Taggart’s lack of loyalty. At the time, I felt as though our hopes of national competitiveness left with Taggart.
Now, with hindsight at our disposal, it is clear that Taggart exiting Eugene prematurely was the best possible outcome for Oregon football. There were red flags when Taggart first arrived, including a co-offensive coordinator’s DUI arrest and several Oregon players being hospitalized as a result of extreme workouts.
These events seemed to be overshadowed by the potential Taggart brought to Eugene, particularly the likelihood of highly-rated recruits. Despite his ability to sign high-profile recruits, Taggart failed to translate talent into meaningful wins at FSU, resulting in his termination after leading the Seminoles to a 9-12 record over the past two seasons.
Taggart seemed to bite off much more than he could chew at both FSU and Oregon. Landing recruits is one step, but Taggart’s questionable legitimate coaching abilities were illuminated by a sloppy, undisciplined style of play. This was exhibited by Oregon in 2017 and FSU over the past two years.
The first silver lining of the debacle was Mario Cristobal, Oregon’s current coach, who was hired by Taggart as offensive coordinator in 2017. Cristobal’s promotion seemed like a consolation prize at the time, as Taggart’s departure still stung in a major way.
However, somewhat quietly, Cristobal managed to revive the 2018 recruiting class, boasting the 13th ranked group in the nation. This was one of the first indications that Cristobal was capable of anything Taggart was recruiting-wise. Cristobal’s talents were again proven with Oregon’s seventh ranked class in 2019.
Taggart might be a successful coach for a Power 5 program someday, but his accomplishments at Western Kentucky and the University of South Florida simply did not translate into wins in more competitive conferences. Both Oregon and FSU should have been more hesitant to throw millions at Taggart before he truly proved himself. His subpar record shows his need for improvement. With that being said, I would not be totally shocked to see Taggart at the helm of another Power 5 school in the future.
Oregon dodged a major bullet due to Taggart’s departure. If Taggart were still the Oregon coach today, history suggests that the program would be heading in the wrong direction. A rebuild would likely be in the near future, and the UO could have shelled out millions to an inferior coach.