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In a move that many predicted, but no one saw coming this quickly, Florida State fired head coach Willie Taggart before the end of his second season on Sunday. Taggart was 9-12 in only 21 games coached and was coming off a 27-10 home loss to a subpar Miami team.
The college football world reacted quickly, especially with the news of Taggart’s buyout, which allows him to walk away with a large chunk of money after a disastrous tenure with the Seminoles.
Florida State is not the only ACC program to fall on hard times, with Clemson and Wake Forest being the only two teams currently featured in the AP top 25.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney commented on Taggart’s firing during his weekly teleconference, less than a month after his team handled Florida State 45-14.
“I hate it. I think Willie is a heck of a guy and heck of a coach” said Swinney. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out. This time of year, you start to see some of that stuff. Wish Willie all the best and certainly have a lot of respect for him.”
The defending national champion head coach expressed how tough it can be to have sustained success, that seemed Taggart was nowhere close to achieving.
“It can happen to anybody. Alabama, as good as they’ve been, has struggled at times, too” said Swinney.
“The thing over the past decade that I’m probably most proud of is our consistency. We are not going to win the league every year and a national championship every year, but to be a consistent team and have a team that always has a chance, that’s what I’m proud of.”
It’s hard to imagine any other ACC teams competing with Clemson for the conference title this season. With the amount of money being spent after today’s news, it’s clear Florida State is determined to be back in the conversation, competing with Swinney’s Clemson Tigers.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Lucas is a digital reporter for 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, and a high school play-by-play broadcaster. Lucas has been covering SEC football for Saturday Down South since 2018.
