Taggart takes job with Baltimore

Former FAU coach Willie Taggart is heading to the NFL, taking an assistant coaching job on the Baltimore Ravens staff.

Taggart will be Baltimore’s new running backs coach, the team announced Wednesday.

“We are excited to welcome Willie to the Ravens as our running backs coach,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a press release. “Willie has been a highly successful and respected college assistant and head coach. He has a proven track record for developing players as a position coach, as an offensive coordinator and as a head coach. A leader and highly effective motivator, Willie’s reputation for building strong relationships with his players and fellow coaches will serve our offense well moving forward.”

Taggart has a long history of working with the Harbaugh family. He worked under John and Jim Harbaugh’s father, Jack Harbaugh, at Western Kentucky and as Jim Harbaugh’s running backs coach at Stanford.

The Owls fired Taggart in November after three seasons in Boca Raton. He went 15-18 at FAU, finishing under .500 in his final two seasons.

Prior to his tenure with the Owls, Taggart coached Florida State to a 9-12 record over two seasons before being let go.

He had more success coaching at Western Kentucky, where he took a Hilltoppers squad that went 2-10 in 2010, his first season, to two straight bowl games. After leaving WKU, he coached South Florida for four seasons, going 10-2 in his final season with the Bulls.

Oregon hired Taggart in 2017 for his first Power 5 job, and he went 7-5 in one season before leaving for Florida State. Taggart has a career record of 72-80 as a head coach.

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL FILE FAU coach Willie Taggart shouts instructions to his players during a game against Charlotte on Oct. 3, 2020. The Baltimore Ravens hired Taggart, who was fired by FAU, to be the team’s new running backs coach.