USF names Weist interim coach after losing Taggart to Oregon

ESPN is reporting the Ducks have tapped South Florida’s Willie Taggart for the job of head football coach.

The Bulls search team headed by athletic director Mark Harlan will have plenty of big name coaches to interview.

Taggart will have until Monday to reconnect in person with OR recruits, some of whom had withdrawn verbal commitments in the wake of Mark Helfrich’s dismissal. After going 6-18 his first two seasons with South Florida, the Bulls won 18 games over the last two seasons.

One current player, quarterback Brett Kean, said via Twitter that he hopes the USF administration looks at the current staff. “Really hope USF keeps some of these coaches around”.

Taggart, 40, coached South Florida to a school-record 10-2 regular-season mark this fall, three years after the Bulls went 2-10. The deal he received last winter included a provision for a $1.7 million buyout.

The Bulls went 10-2 this year and a re now No. 25 in the AP Top 25.

Taggart left Bradenton for Bowling Green, Ky., after his senior year to play at Western Kentucky under Jack Harbaugh. The Buckeyes are giving up almost 30 yards fewer per game this year compared to last, 281.6 vs. 311.3, respectively.

OR had been looking for a new head coach since Mark Helfrich was dismissed November 26.

Willie Taggart will likely hit the ground running once he accesses the landscape.

“I certainly think he’s a good fit”, Dungy, whose son played at both South Florida and OR, told ESPN last week. There will be plenty of quality candidates for the USF job led by two men former LSU head coach Les Miles and Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. He was a success at Rutgers, and USF is one of the better Group of Five gigs. “They’ve been doing the right thing based on the talent they have”, Shaw said.

He has been rumored for other coaching jobs over the last few years, all of which have been National Football League position coaching positions. He may have to modify his “toes on the line” approach to a degree, and we think he would. “It is with respect and disappointment that we receive this decision”. The Bulls will play SC in the Birmingham Bowl. The Ducks’ previous three coaches – Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly and Helfrich – were assistants who were promoted. A strong sentimental favorite if nothing else.

As a coach at FSU, Dawsey has been the primary recruiter for the Tampa area, and is well known in the state of Florida. It doesn’t hurt that his wife, Vicki, has family in Lakeland. “If not, we’re happy to still have him in Tampa”. That tells you his kids kept playing hard for him. Allen is an IN native who was a successful high school coach IN Indianapolis. He’s young (43), energetic, African-American and a heck of a recruiter – sound like anyone you know, Bulls fans? Lenoir could be a key piece of the puzzle to get the team back to competing for the Pac-12 and a National Championship in the coming seasons.