Willie Taggart
Willie Taggart went 71–80 as a head coach, 2010–2022, at Western Kentucky, South Florida, Oregon, Florida State and Florida Atlantic. Share
- Record
- 71–80 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Aug 27, 1976
- Alma mater
- Western Kentucky 1998
- Best season
- 2016 11–2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Western Kentucky | 2–10 | 9th | |||
| 2011 | Western Kentucky | 7–5 | 2nd | |||
| 2012 | Western Kentucky | 7–5 | 5th | Little Caesars Pizza (not coached) | ||
| 2013 | South Florida | 2–10 | 8th | |||
| 2014 | South Florida | 4–8 | 7th | |||
| 2015 | South Florida | 8–5 | 2nd (East) | Miami Beach Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | South Florida | 10–2 | T–1st (East) | Birmingham (not coached) | ||
| 2017 | Oregon | 7–5 | 4th (North) | Las Vegas (not coached) | ||
| 2018 | Florida State | 5–7 | T–5th (Atlantic) | |||
| 2019 | Florida State coached nine of 13 games | 4–5 | ||||
| 2020 | Florida Atlantic | 5–4 | 2nd (East) | Montgomery Bowl L | ||
| 2021 | Florida Atlantic | 5–7 | T–5th (East) | |||
| 2022 | Florida Atlantic | 5–7 | T–4th |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 26 | 3–23 | 12% |
| Against top-10 teams | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 20 | 7–13 | 35% |
| Conference games | 102 | 52–50 | 51% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 48 | 28–20 | 58% |
| At home | 80 | 46–34 | 57% |
| On the road | 68 | 25–43 | 37% |
| At neutral sites | 3 | 0–3 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 61 | 41–20 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 90 | 30–60 | 33% |
His own 151 games on file, 2010–2022, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Stockstill 2010–2022 | 1–4 | Middle Tennessee | 5 | |
| Tommy Tuberville 2013–2016 | 3–1 | Cincinnati | 4 | |
| Justin Fuente 2013–2018 | 0–4 | Memphis, Virginia Tech | 4 | |
| Bob Diaco 2014–2016 | 3–0 | UConn | 3 | |
| Will Healy 2020–2022 | 3–0 | Charlotte | 3 | |
| Larry Blakeney 2010–2012 | 2–1 | Troy | 3 | |
| Mario Cristobal 2010–2012 | 2–1 | Florida International | 3 | |
| Dino Babers 2016–2019 | 2–1 | Syracuse | 3 | |
| Joker Phillips 2010–2012 | 1–2 | Kentucky | 3 | |
| Todd Berry 2010–2012 | 1–2 | UL Monroe | 3 |
Willie Taggart’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Internationalseries | 6 | 5–1 |
| UCFseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Memphisseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Middle Tennesseeseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| UConnseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Syracuseseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| Cincinnatiseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| SMUseries | 4 | 3–1 |
How he was hired
- Hired by Oregon for the 2017 season from South Florida, where he was head coach.
- Hired by Florida State for the 2018 season from Oregon, where he was head coach.
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–09 | Stanford | Running backs coach | |
| 2010–12 | Western Kentucky | Head coach | |
| 2013–16 | South Florida | Head coach | |
| 2017 | Oregon | Head coach | |
| 2018–19 | Florida State | Head coach | |
| 2020–22 | Florida Atlantic | Head coach | |
| 2026–present | New York Giants NFL | Running backs coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jim HarbaughStanford
Assistants who became head coaches
- Clint BowenKansas
- Mike Sanford Jr.Western Kentucky, Colorado
- Raymond Woodie Jr.Bethune-Cookman
- Walt WellsEastern Kentucky
- JaMarcus ShephardOregon State
- Lance GuidryMiami (OH), Western Kentucky, McNeese
- Ryan BeardMissouri State, Coastal Carolina
- Kevin PatrickSouth Florida
- Ron CooperEastern Michigan, Louisville, Alabama A&M, Long Island University
- Paul WulffWashington State, Eastern Washington, Iowa State, UC Davis, Cal Poly
- Danny HopePurdue, Eastern Kentucky
- Tom AllenIndiana
- and 14 more
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Harbaugh | Stanford | 2007–09 | Running backs coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (26)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Bowen | Western Kentucky, 2010: defensive coordinator | Kansas | |
| Mike Sanford Jr. | Western Kentucky, 2010: quarterbacks coach | Western Kentucky, Colorado | |
| Raymond Woodie Jr. | Western Kentucky, 2010–11: defensive ends coach; 2012: linebackers coach; South Florida, 2013–14: linebackers coach; 2015: assistant head coach and linebackers coach; 2016: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator; Oregon, 2017: special teams and outside linebackers coach; Florida State, 2018–19: linebackers coach; Florida Atlantic, 2020: outside linebackers coach; 2021–22: assistant head coach and special teams and outside linebackers coach | Bethune-Cookman | |
| Walt Wells | Western Kentucky, 2010–12: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; South Florida, 2013: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Eastern Kentucky | |
| JaMarcus Shephard | Western Kentucky, 2011–12: defensive assistant | Oregon State | |
| Lance Guidry | Western Kentucky, 2011–12: defensive coordinator; Florida Atlantic, 2020: safeties coach | Miami (OH), Western Kentucky, McNeese | |
| Ryan Beard | Western Kentucky, 2012: defensive graduate assistant | Missouri State, Coastal Carolina | |
| Kevin Patrick | South Florida, 2013: defensive tackles coach; Florida Atlantic, 2020–22: outside linebackers coach | South Florida | |
| Ron Cooper | South Florida, 2013–14: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Alabama A&M, Long Island University | |
| Paul Wulff | South Florida, 2014: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Washington State, Eastern Washington, Iowa State, UC Davis, Cal Poly | |
| Danny Hope | South Florida, 2015: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Purdue, Eastern Kentucky | |
| Tom Allen | South Florida, 2015: defensive coordinator | Indiana | |
| T. J. Weist | South Florida, 2016: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | UConn, South Florida | |
| Jim Leavitt | Oregon, 2017: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Florida State, 2019: analyst; Florida Atlantic, 2020: defensive coordinator | South Florida | |
| Marcus Arroyo | Oregon, 2017: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and tight ends coach | UNLV, Arizona State | |
| Mario Cristobal | Oregon, 2017: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Florida International, Oregon, Miami | |
| Harlon Barnett | Florida State, 2018–19: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Michigan State | |
| Mark Snyder | Florida State, 2018: defensive ends coach; 2019: linebackers and special teams coach | Marshall, Shawnee State | |
| Mickey Andrews | Florida State, 2018: special assistant | West Alabama, North Alabama | |
| Odell Haggins | Florida State, 2018: defensive tackles coach; 2019: assistant head coach and defensive line coach | Florida State | |
| Walt Bell | Florida State, 2018: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Massachusetts | |
| Ed Warinner | Florida Atlantic, 2021–22: assistant head coach, running game coordinator and offensive line coach | Avila | |
| Mike Stoops | Florida Atlantic, 2021: defensive coordinator | Arizona | |
| Billy Gonzales | Florida Atlantic, 2022: wide receivers coach | Florida | |
| Brent Dearmon | Florida Atlantic, 2022: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Bethel (TN), North Alabama | |
| Chad Lunsford | Florida Atlantic, 2022: special teams and tight ends coach | Georgia Southern, Florida Atlantic |
Other assistants under him (19)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton White | Western Kentucky, 2010: co-STC and defensive backs coach | |
| Nick Sheridan | Western Kentucky, 2011: graduate assistant; 2012: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach; South Florida, 2013: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Zach Azzanni | Western Kentucky, 2011: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Marquel Blackwell | Western Kentucky, 2012: running backs coach | |
| Chuck Bresnahan | South Florida, 2013–14: defensive coordinator | |
| Ron Dugans | South Florida, 2014–15: wide receivers coach; Florida State, 2019: wide receivers coach | |
| David Reaves | South Florida, 2015: co-offensive coordinator | |
| Darren Hiller | South Florida, 2016: co-offensive coordinator | |
| John Jancek | South Florida, 2016: safeties | |
| Joe Salave’a | Oregon, 2017: assistant head coach, defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator | |
| Keith Heyward | Oregon, 2017: safeties coach | |
| Mike Johnson | Oregon, 2017: wide receivers coach; Florida Atlantic, 2021: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Kendal Briles | Florida State, 2019: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mark Cala | Florida State, 2019: graduate assistant | |
| Clint Trickett | Florida Atlantic, 2020: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Drew Mehringer | Florida Atlantic, 2020: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Jaron Fairman | Florida Atlantic, 2020: special teams coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Brandon Harris | Florida Atlantic, 2022: cornerbacks coach | |
| Todd Orlando | Florida Atlantic, 2022: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oregon | head coachbonuses up to $1,825,000; buyout $8,150,000 | $2,900,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $900,000; $25,000 in bonuses paid | $1,704,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $650,000 | $1,152,500 USA Today | |
| 2014 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $650,000 | $1,182,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Taggart’s teams went for it on 20% of fourth downs and on 31% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 45% of plays and took 24.2 seconds a play, 2010–2022.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 10 g | Western Kentucky | 15 of 86 17% | 38% | 39% | 24.1 | −0.06 | |
| 2011 12 g | Western Kentucky | 15 of 98 15% | 24% | 38% | 25.8 | −0.06 | |
| 2012 13 g | Western Kentucky | 18 of 78 23% | 33% | 43% | 25.9 | +0.02 | |
| 2013 12 g | South Florida | 14 of 108 13% | 18% | 53% | 25.5 | −0.21 | |
| 2014 12 g | South Florida | 18 of 99 18% | 23% | 53% | 26.7 | −0.09 | |
| 2015 13 g | South Florida | 19 of 102 19% | 35% | 36% | 24.5 | +0.08 | |
| 2016 12 g | South Florida | 18 of 84 21% | 39% | 41% | 21.9 | +0.24 | |
| 2017 13 g | Oregon | 17 of 94 18% | 28% | 36% | 22.8 | +0.04 | |
| 2018 12 g | Florida State | 24 of 119 20% | 36% | 58% | 22.9 | −0.12 | |
| 2020 8 g | Florida Atlantic | 23 of 70 33% | 47% | 44% | 25.7 | −0.09 | |
| 2021 12 g | Florida Atlantic | 22 of 92 24% | 30% | 50% | 22.7 | +0.04 | |
| 2022 10 g | Florida Atlantic | 18 of 78 23% | 30% | 46% | 22.6 | +0.13 | |
| All 139 g | 221 of 1108 20% | 31% | 45% | 24.2 | 0.00 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.