If Willie Taggart leaves Oregon Football for Florida State, the Ducks may have some intriguing options to replace him.
Oregon Football is in a better place than they were a year ago and if Willie Taggart decides to depart for Florida State there are options for the Ducks when it comes to their next Head Coach. I hope that Taggart decides to stay at Oregon and continue building the team into the Contender he envisioned when he arrived a year ago, but if he leaves I believe Oregon won’t have to look far to find their next candidate to lead the team.
The Oregon Ducks have plenty of Coordinators that have the experience to be the Head Coach starting with Jim Leavitt. He has NFL Experience and knows how to put together a good Defense. What he did this season was remarkable considering many of the players had to focus on relearning his style of play. Several had to learn new positions altogether. Leavitt is a positive influence on the field, bringing an energy to the job that outruns his players most of the time.
Mario Cristobal is another option. The Ducks Offensive Line Coach helped make Tyrell Crosby a household name this season and can mold young men with fundamentals and technique. The Ducks cannot afford to lose either Leavitt or Cristobal.
For the short term, I can see Oregon putting an ‘Interim’ Head Coach tag on Leavitt if a full-blown coach search is required. As it stands, Oregon has contingency plans in place if Taggart departs.