Willie Taggart left Oregon for the Florida State job. Now, the Ducks are on their second coaching search in two years. Who are the best fits?
Willie Taggart is officially the next head coach at Florida State. Taggart, who spent just a year at Oregon, left Eugene for his home state of Florida on Tuesday afternoon. It’s Willie’s dream scenario, as he is a lifelong FSU fan, and gets to coach in his native state now. It’s disappointing for the Ducks, however, this situation has some different circumstances. Mostly in part to the FSU job opening up following Jimbo Fisher’s exit.
Now, though, Oregon must turn their attention to their vacancy quickly. It’s funny in a way. The Ducks didn’t have to go through a hiring process for 40 years before canning Mark Helfrich last year. Now, one year later, they have to go through a second search in two years. The job has its benefits. You’re rolling around in Nike money, and you have state-of-the-art facilities. However, it has its cons, as well. You’re in Oregon, a state not rich with football talent, and you’re competing against some pretty tough coaches in the Pac-12.
That hasn’t stopped the Oregon machine from rolling on, though. Last year’s 4-8 season was their first sub-.500 season since 2004. It also was only their second sub-.500 season since 1994. It’s clear that you can win at Oregon, and the job is an attractive one for that reason. The Ducks will have to make a strong hire, as they can’t stand to lose ground in the Pac-12 North or the conference on the whole right now. But, they made a strong hire last year. So the people in charge have an idea of what they’re doing.
Let’s take a look at who the best fits are for the job.
Kevin Sumlin
Kevin Sumlin and his style are right up Oregon’s alley. Apart from their different uniform combos, scoring points in bunches and prolific offenses have been their style. Sumlin’s spread attack can be exactly what the Ducks need to maintain their standing in the Pac-12.
While he has had his QB issues in the past, he has a sure one in Justin Herbert right now. Herbert, when he was on the field for the Ducks this year, was fantastic. Herbert may very well be a first round pick next year if he chooses to leave for the pros. We’ve seen NFL QBs flourish under Sumlin before. Case Keenum for one, and Johnny Manziel for another. Having a ready-made QB for Sumlin as he walks into the job is the best case scenario for him. And it may very well be the best case scenario for Herbert, too.
Plus, running backs were able to succeed as well. And all Oregon does is recruit good-to-great tailbacks. And there will be quite a few on the roster for Sumlin if he walks into the job, as well.
Oregon hasn’t shied away from recruiting in Texas in the past, and having Sumlin aboard can help them stay strong down there. He will obviously have to look out west as well, but the Ducks have always had strong enough presence out west, anyway.
This fit is strong with his style of play and how Oregon has played in the past decade. The Ducks could very well look elsewhere. But if they want to hire a proven head coach to assume the role, they might not get much better than Kevin Sumlin.