FanPost

The evolution of Willie Taggart and staff at FSU

So since FSU is not playing football right now, everyone has a ton of spare time on their hands to either bash the program or turn their efforts into recruiting and getting closer to the ledge. So besides making staff changes(either new coaches or changing position groupings) and recruiting, what could Taggart do to take that next step in his coaching acumen?

Year 1--did not go well but there seemed to be some positives to take from Taggart as an actual coach:

  • Gave up play calling to focus more on the entire team. Happy to see his ego didnt get in the way of the team and hopefully that helps gel the offense more in year 2
  • Did sit the quitters. Granted it might not have been as long as some of us would have wanted, he at least did something to prove you have to be accountable
  • Played a ton of freshman. If you need to recruit yourself out of this miss, getting 'your' guys out there helps. Saw some positive play from the young kids and hopefully that is a solid nucleus to build the team around
  • Going for it on 4th down. Even with a bad OL and limited playbook, it is nice to see that FSUs coach understands the value of points rather than punting it
  • Changed his running first offense to more of a passing attack. The OL couldnt move people, so the offense did adapt. They threw the ball a ton more than Taggart's offense ever have. Francois's strength was his arm and not his legs currently and during the season it shifted more to his strengths. Even if the outcomes werent always what we wanted, he showed the ability to be flexible to his players
So the major issues and areas I want to see improved:
  • Bad penalties and way too many of them. Bud recently came out with a post that basically said in year 1 Taggart's team was near the bottom in penalties but improved after that. Hope that stays true at FSU. I can deal with a false start here and there or a holding penalty but the personal fouls and stupid plays just need to stop. The discpline needs to drastically improve and that will be something I really look at next year
  • Special teams in general. I know Hampton is the scap goat here, rightfully so, but Taggart's approach needs to change. FSU cost themselves 100's of yards in field position by taking balls out of the endzone and just sloppy play. I am all for trying to break a long kick off return but if you are a returner, catching the ball going backwards in the endzone--there is 0 reason to run that ball out. That coaching needs to be cleaned up because it 100% is hurting the team in hidden yardage and screwing over your defense
  • Get on the refs. We all laugh at purple faced Brian Kelly or Jimbos tirades but in ways it worked. NCSU--12 straight penalties against FSU. Miami double pass. The balant holding in BC. Taggart needs to stump for his team more and get some flags. Brian Burns didnt draw a single holding penalty this year. One of the premium pass rushers in the country was never held in 12 games. That is terrible. A stat on Twitter mentioned that FSU's DL got 1 holding penalty accepted all year. 12 games, 1 flag on their behalf. That needs to be changed and it starts with Taggart.
  • Make staff changes. These are his 'dudes'. Many of them have coached with him before and he trusts them. Does he have the backbone to demote or fire his friends? It is a business but still never a fun situation to be in. Having a 5-7 record out of the gate and losing the ball streak shortened the turnaround time so year 2 is big So if firing one of your guys needs to be done, I want to see FSU's coach actually do it. The Lost Decade, the last couple years of Jimbo's tenure--we saw coaches not make the changes needed and things got stale. Cant happen again in a rebuilding time
Taggart came out and mentioned how it was a learning curve to playing in the ACC and he needs to get better. He does. I was happy to see some of the changes he made on the fly but really want to see what he does this offseason and how he improves from year 1 to year 2. The schedule is easier next year so I personally expect more wins just because of that but how they look and act in those games are what I really will be looking for.

What other in-game/program management changes would you like to see happen or areas for Taggart to improve?

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