FAU football after Willie Taggart: How good is Owls job? Who are candidates?
The Willie Taggart era at Florida Atlantic is over.
Taggart was fired Saturday after a 32-31 overtime loss to Western Kentucky to finish 5-7. The Owls went 15-18 under Taggart, winning five games in each of his three seasons and making a bowl only in his first season in 2020.
“(Taggart) has represented FAU with class and character. However, the lack of on-field success needed to be addressed as we look toward the future,” athletic director Brian White said in a statement. “A national search will begin immediately to identify and recruit the best coach to lead FAU Football as we begin play in the American Athletic Conference next season.”
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FAU has had only one coach last longer than three years: its founder, Howard Schnellenberger. Lane Kiffin left for Ole Miss after three seasons, while Taggart, Charlie Partridge and Carl Pelini were all fired after three or fewer seasons.
So how good is the FAU job? What names could get in the mix? Here are the factors to keep in mind.
This is a program that can win
FAU football began playing in 2001. Schnellenberger had a few successful seasons, but Kiffin showed what was possible, posting 11-3 records in 2017 and 2019 and twice winning the Conference USA title.
That’s why Taggart didn’t get any more time. The program has evolved past trying to compete for bowl games and has proven that it can and should expect to compete for championships. Taggart never got close. This was long considered a program with huge potential. Kiffin showed what that potential can be.
Willie Taggart failed to win more than five games in a season at FAU. (Megan Briggs / Getty Images)What are the resources moving to the AAC?
FAU is one of six Conference USA schools moving to the AAC next season and the third with a coaching change as of Saturday night, joining Charlotte and UAB. FAU was invited due to its location in south Florida and its investment in football.
Taggart’s salary was around $775,000, only ninth in C-USA, but part of that was due to the buyout Taggart still receives from Florida State after his firing there, allowing FAU to get him at a bit of a cheaper price. Before him, Kiffin signed a 10-year deal at FAU that paid him nearly $1 million, which should be more in line with what FAU can pay.
But that’s still well below what the top teams in the current AAC pay. SMU, Memphis, USF and even UAB and North Texas have shown the ability to pay a lot more — in some cases more than $2 million.
As for the other resources, FAU opened the Schmidt Family Complex in 2020. It includes a sports medicine center, an academic center and a sports museum. It’s an impressive building. However, there is no indoor practice field. FAU’s football budget was near the top of Conference USA, more than $13 million for 2021-22, but it enters an AAC with many programs that spend more. As with everyone making the move to the AAC, spending is expected to go up.
Are Florida ties a requirement?
Taggart is from Florida, had success as USF’s head coach and spent two years at Florida State’s head coach. He had all the Florida ties in the world. FAU signed C-USA’s fourth-ranked recruiting class in 2021, leaned on signing 12 transfers last year and has the No. 1 class in C-USA, at least for now. As a result, FAU is No. 1 in C-USA in 247Sports’ Team Talent rankings, based on the high school recruiting ratings of players. Time will tell if the transfer window and portal changes that.
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A similar situation played out at USF, where Jeff Scott was fired and didn’t work out despite strong Florida connections.
Where does this rank among open jobs?
Conference-mate Charlotte already hired a coach in Biff Poggi. Future AAC rival USF had a head start and should be nearing the end of its search. The Bulls can also pay a lot more. Same with UAB. A number of other current and future AAC jobs could also come open in the coming days.
So what names could get in the mix?
Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons is 33-12 in four seasons at the Tallahassee school after taking over a program coming off six consecutive losing seasons. Last year’s 9-3 team became the first HBCU to play in the FCS playoffs since 2016, and this year’s team went 9-2. This success has come despite a lack of support from the school administration, as the Rattlers opened the season against North Carolina without more than a dozen players due to certification issues. Simmons also went 21-11 in three seasons as Prairie View A&M’s head coach. He’s had a lot of success at schools without many resources. FAU could give him more to work with.
Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider is a Florida native and a former Florida high school coach with a track record of recruiting Florida players to schools like Penn State, West Virginia and Marshall. He’s No. 3 in 247Sports’ top recruiter rankings for the Class of 2023. Running backs he’s developed include the Philadelphia Eagles’ Miles Sanders and former third-round pick Charles Sims. This year, Penn State freshman running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both crossed the 800-yard mark.
Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. held the same role at FAU under Kiffin in 2018 and 2019, including one of those 11-win seasons. Weis is just 29 years old but has been in coaching since 2011. Before joining Kiffin at Ole Miss this year, he spent 2020 and 2021 as USF’s offensive coordinator.
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Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was UCF’s offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2019 and had a lot of player support to get the job that went to Gus Malzahn. After two years in the same role at Ole Miss, the 38-year-old was hired by Brent Venables at Oklahoma. This has been an up-and-down season, in part due to injuries, but Lebby has produced some of the most explosive offenses in the country over the past five years.
Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins doesn’t call the plays at FSU but has improved the Seminoles’ offense dramatically since arriving in 2020. He was promoted to offensive coordinator this year and has engineered a massive turnaround. The Seminoles lead the nation in plays of 20-plus yards and the offensive line ranks 38th in sacks allowed per game after not finishing better than 95th in that stat since 2015. The 38-year-old is considered a rising star in the industry but might be in line for a bigger job.
Former Texas head coach Tom Herman has been in the mix for the Colorado and USF jobs. Would he have interest here? Herman went 22-4 at Houston from 2015 through 2016 and then 32-18 at Texas from 2017 through 2020 with three Top 25 finishes. His Texas stint was by no means a disaster, leaving it better than he found it.
Howard head coach Larry Scott was a finalist at USF the last time it opened and is in the mix again this time. He interviewed at FAU when the job went to Kiffin. He spent seven years as a USF assistant from 2006-12 and went 4-2 as Miami’s interim head coach in 2015. But Scott is 7-16 at Howard and lost to USF in September.
Toledo head coach Jason Candle has been in the mix for the USF job and talked with Miami (Fla.) about its offensive coordinator job last year. Candle is 52-32 in seven years without a losing season. He’ll coach for his second MAC title next week against Ohio. Also notable: His Toledo co-offensive coordinator, Robert Weiner, was a longtime Tampa-area coach, leading Plant High School from 2004 through 2019 and winning four state titles.
Former Nebraska and UCF head coach Scott Frost guided UCF from a winless team to an undefeated season in two years. His Nebraska run was a disaster, but with a healthy buyout coming his way, would he be interested in returning to the Sunshine State? Or would FAU shy away from another failed Power 5 head coach?
Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is a semifinalist for the Broyles Award given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He went 21-15 as Miami’s head coach before that, making three bowls in three seasons (something the Canes won’t do this year). He’s a Miami native and the son of the former mayor of the city with plenty of south Florida connections. But would FAU consider a former Miami head coach right after a former FSU coach didn’t work?
(Top photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
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