FAU to introduce Taggart as coach

Florida Atlantic has reached an agreement with Willie Taggart to be its new football coach, replacing Lane Kiffin, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

Taggart will be introduced to the FAU community in a news conference today, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been finalized. University officials were still going over final details of what will become Taggart’s contract late Wednesday.

Kiffin was 26-13 in three seasons with FAU, winning two Conference USA championships and breathing new life into a moribund program before leaving last week to take over at Mississippi. His hiring in 2016 was a splashy one, after past stints as a head coach — at Tennessee and with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders — didn’t work out as he hoped.

Taggart could use a similar résumé revival. He’s been to one bowl game in 10 seasons as a head coach, with a 56-62 record. Florida State fired him in November after a 27-10 loss to Miami.

FAU will be his fourth school in less than four years. He was at South Florida from 2013 through 2016, then Oregon in 2017, Florida State for the last two seasons, and he now takes over as Kiffin’s replacement with about a week left until an early signing day for recruits.

Taggart started his career as a head coach with Western Kentucky, going 16-20 in three seasons. He was 24-25 in four seasons with USF, 7-5 in his lone season with Oregon and 9-12 in parts of two seasons with FSU.