Willie Taggart needs to do what is best for him, but the media run around is a bit ridiculous.
I did not think I would be writing this statement now. College Football is a Business. Coaches use stepping stones and like Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, get paid and move on to bigger and better things. Willie Taggart is in a similar situation, or believes he is, after one season leading the Oregon Ducks. His track record for staying in one place for too long is not good.
It seems one year at Oregon, turning around a program that went 4-8 the previous year and putting the Football Culture in the right direction could be enough for him to leave. Remaining at Oregon, where he is still under contract, is something that has gotten lost in the shuffle over the last few weeks. Getting caught up with the Willie Taggart Decision is almost second nature.
He has yet to give a definitive ‘Yes or No’ answer to a simple question, “Will You Be Head Coach For Oregon in 2018?” Words of his whereabouts over the last two weeks have him everywhere from Eugene, to Florida, to the North Pole. He is currently on a recruiting trip and reportedly in Arizona on Monday.
Oregon Football is working in a contingency if Taggart decides to leave, and his history is not working in favor of Willie Taggart. Former messages on Twitter praise his former schools – both Western Kentucky and South Florida. Within days of those tweets he was gone. So, after a season where the Oregon Head Coach has been very open with the media, more than any of his predecessors, can he be trusted?
That is the biggest question. Taggart is looking out for number one and no one can fault him for that. You have to do what is best for you first and foremost. He is a Florida guy, his family is there, his roots are there. If an opportunity comes at you ‘dream school’ in Florida State, you have to at least consider the option, but the, but cost at this point in Eugene and to the Ducks Recruiting Class could be devastating.
With the uncertainty and the rumors, Oregon has already fallen out of the Top 10 for the Class of 2018. Damage control will need to be done either way. The Oregon Ducks are also in a tight spot with the early signing period just a few weeks away. If Taggart decides to stay, and I hope he does it will be easier in the short term. In the College Football World we live in, this will be a yearly occurrence.
Next: Oregon Basketball: Ducks Fall To Boise State In Buzzer Beater
Rumors will be put out on Social Media, Schools will come calling, but next time around the conversation could go smoother on all sides with a simple yes or no, regardless of who the coach is for Oregon Football.