If Fisher departs, backup plan is in place
Fuente, Taggart lead FSU’s list of possible candidates.
Florida State isn’t waiting around for Jimbo Fisher to make a final decision.
Fisher, the Seminoles’ eighth-year head coach, reportedly has been offered the same position at Texas A&M. However, he hasn’t commented on the opening in College Station or whether he’s staying in Tallahassee.
Since many signs point to the 52-year old coach jumping ship, FSU’s administration is moving forward with contingency plans. Warchant.com has learned that a small group of FSU decision-makers — FSU President John Thrasher, Board of Trustees chair Edward Burr and director of athletics Stan Wilcox — is leading the preliminary search.
And two names that have come to the forefront from those efforts are Oregon head coach Willie Taggart and Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente.
Taggart, a native of Bradenton, has been rumored as a major candidate for a possible opening at FSU since last week. The 41-year old coach just completed his first regular season at Oregon, finishing 7-5. During the four previous years, Taggart was head coach at South Florida and took the Bulls from 2-10 in 2013 to 10-2 in 2016.
According to several sources, Oregon on Tuesday offered to add another year to Taggart’s contract. He originally signed a fiveyear, $16 million deal with Oregon last December.
According to ESPN.com, if Taggart leaves Oregon before Jan. 31, 2018, he would owe the university $3 million. He would also owe the $1.5 million buyout Oregon paid USF to hire Taggart.
Fuente just completed his second regular season as head coach at Virginia Tech. He began his major-college coaching career as an assistant coach at TCU and then took over as offensive coordinator in 2009. He was hired by a struggling Memphis program in 2012 and, after two rebuilding years, propelled the Tigers to 10-win and nine-win seasons.
Fuente took over for the Hokies in 2016 and has received rave reviews for what he has accomplished so far in Blacksburg. In two seasons with Virginia Tech, he has led the Hokies to a 19-7 record, including 11-5 in the ACC.
The process of hiring a head coach probably would move quickly, considering the early signing period for college football will begin Dec. 20. With time being of the essence in recruiting, a new coaching hire in Tallahassee could take place as early as next week should Fisher leave.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M continued to do its due dilligence as it woos Fisher. According to Bryan Fischer of College Football Talk, Texas A&M vetted Fisher’s handling of the Jameis Winston rape case. The Aggies reportedly reached out to multiple NFL people who did background work on the case several years ago.
Winston allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 2013. Florida State paid $950,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a Title IX violation by the university.
Fisher coached Winston from 2012-14, which includes the period when Winston’s case first came about.
SEC Country contributed to this story.