Report: Willie Taggart to take over at Oregon

According to ESPN sources, Willie Taggart will leave USF to become the next head coach at Oregon.

According to ESPN College Football insider Brett McMurphy, Willie Taggart will become the next head coach at the University of Oregon. Taggart will take the reins in Eugene after successful coaching stints at Western Kentucky and USF.

The 40-year-old had emerged as a strong contender to take over for Mark Helfrich, and ends all speculation that Chip Kelly would make a return to the NCAA. Taggart had emerged last night as the top candidate.

While at USF, Taggart built upon his reputation as a strong recruiter and offensive wizard. He has complied a 40-45 career record, which does not reflect his true coaching abilities. After taking over a USF program in shambles, Taggart rebuilt the Bulls into a strong team, going 18-7 over the past two seasons. USF is currently ranked 24th, and played a competitive game with Florida State this year. Taggart’s offense is ranked fifth in the country, scoring close to 44 points per game.

The Ducks experienced initial success under Mark Helfrich, Kelly’s replacement, but have stagnated over the past two seasons, bottoming out with a 4-8 record and sixth-place finish in the Pac-12 this year. One of the biggest criticisms of the Helfrich regime was his inability to recruit a viable option at quarterback.

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With his strong energy and youth, familiarity with the Pac-12 from serving as an assistant at Stanford, and ability to tap Florida as a recruiting pipeline, Taggart is an ideal fit in Oregon, a school that has the type of facilities and support system from Phil Knight to contend immediately. The reserved Helfrich was not able to capitalize on his substantial resources to keep the program on the right path. Over his short career, Taggart has proven himself to be that type of coach, something that makes him an excellent fit as the next coach at the University of Oregon.