Yesterday’s news monsoon about former football head coach, Willie Taggart, leaving for Oregon and the subsequent race to predict who the Bulls will hire to replace him has not subsided. Speculation has remained amongst the biggest names, Charlie Strong, Lane Kiffin, and Greg Schiano.
Looking Back
While all of the head coach search is driving the headlines, the Bulls need to focus on maintaining what they have. They have named T.J. Weist, co-offensive coordinator, as interim head coach until a replacement has been named. No timeline has been put on the search, but it isn’t out of the question that he should coach the bowl game against South Carolina.
The first bit of fallout from the Taggart departure is the de-commitment of defensive end recruit, J’Bril Glaze of Jefferson High School. Glaze says that USF is still on his list, but he wants to review his options.
A different recruit, defensive tackle, Darrien Grant, says he’s still committed.
The change has given other recruits some uncertainty. Given the nature of coaching changes, these players should be concerned and checking their options. This was not a highly ranked recruiting class by any measure and it was just about full by mid-summer. These things are usually viewed from how the commitment level affects the program, but new coaches can shake things up, too.
And, of course, UCF will try to capitalize on the vulnerability of those recruits. With the big names being circulated as replacements for Taggart, all of whom have better career highlights and experience, it is hard to see many of the flipping their commitment to UCF.
ESPN reporter with a knack for breaking huge news stories, especially concerning USF, broke the Taggart story early this week and was the first to report the deal when it became official. He spoke with local sports radio, 620 WDAE, yesterday, calling the loss of Taggart a “huge loss for USF” and that Tony Dungy’s endorsement sealed the deal. He went on to say that USF is in a position to hire a great coach, one that nobody would have believed they could land five years ago. He also stated that both Lane Kiffin and Charlie Strong have told sources at ESPN that they are interested in the USF job. He elaborated by saying it’s easier to list who is not interested in the job.
Looking Forward
Tampa Bay Times’ Joey Knight reports that Charlie Strong is the overwhelming favorite to replace Taggart at USF based on online and radio polls. Those polls are obviously not scientific and don’t reflect the view of the school, but they do give an idea of where the fanbase and the public pulse is. Knight also extends the list of seven presented here yesterday, to ten candidates.
Tennessee assistant, Larry Scott, is not on that list, but apparently is the subject of rumors.
