Report: South Florida’s Willie Taggart interviewing for South Carolina head coaching job

According to a report, South Florida head coach Willie Taggart is interviewing for the South Carolina job.

There are a lot of rumors circulating around about who could be the next head coach at South Carolina. When Steve Spurrier left the program in the middle of the season, the program knew they were going to have to make the right hire if they were going to become very competitive inside the SEC East and the SEC as a whole again.

Names have circulated from Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, all the way to Greg Schiano. Well, according to SI’s Pete Thamel, the Gamecocks could have their eye on someone out of the American Athletic Conference.

According to Thamel, sources close to the situation have informed him that South Florida’s Willie Taggart is interviewing for the South Carolina job today.

While it’s a surprising name for the search, the move should come as no shock, as the Bulls had a great year in the AAC, where the team finished 8-4 and second in the East Division.

Taggart has been seen as one those soon-to-be top prospect coaches from outside a Power Five conference that would eventually make his way to the ranks of the bigger programs. Going from South Florida to South Carolina would be a huge leap for Taggart, as he would be going from the American Athletic Conference all the way to the powerhouse that is SEC football.

While the SEC East might not be as tough as the West at the moment, it’s got some great football teams that are on the rise that will soon put the division on par with the other side of the conference. It would be a tough challenge for Taggart to overcome, but if his time at South Florida is any indication, he could have South Carolina playing some good football if he can recruit the talent there.

He’s a coach that players love playing for down in South Florida, and those that would play for him at South Carolina would see what made him successful as the Bulls’ coach.

South Carolina is probably going to want to go through every option before naming their next head coach, but Willie Taggart would certainly be an intriguing option going forward for the Gamecocks’ program.