Questions about Coach Taggart

[Flowers4Heisman]

It's all about money.

 

If you are Alabama, you take your bag of money and grab an NFL coach and then be an instant National Champion.

 

If you are a USF, you go after an up-and-coming coach. CWT was one of the top candidates in that pool of names at the hiring time.

 

Skip was a lateral move that didn't pan out because it was Leavitt's system and he couldn't repeat what Leavitt was able to do (motivate, recruit, etc.). I'm sure Skip is still in awe of Leavitt right now: "Dang, that guy did something amazing in Tampa."

 

What do I like about CWT?

 

1) He's come in with the attitude of rebuilding the program, which he did at WKU.

2) He's got full understanding of what it takes to win in Florida. (Skip had no freaking clue.)

3) He's been trained properly and he's had a chance to rebuild a program. And he was there when Stanford went through a rebuilding process. He's also getting help from the Harbaughs from afar.

4) He's very likeable and has all the qualities that one looks for, in addition to being connected. Leavitt was basically a loner. Did USF ever have a friend outside of Tampa when he coached the program?

 

Can CWT do it, rebuild USF into a winner? Yes! I give it 88%.

 

This year? Hmmm... I think not.

[hm101]

Attitude. The way this team operates, looks, etc is like night and day

[slowdown]

I think Taggart has a good chance here because he is tougher than Skip and a little more sane than Leavitt.  You can't overstate what Leavitt did here but he was able to do it because he was a little off.  

 

Taggart is going to maximize recruiting but also bring a style of offense that supports the defense, and we've put some very good defenses on the field historically. Run game and throwing to the TE's and RB's for short high completion rate gains. 

 

Defensively we will go back to an aggressive style that has served us in the past.  If we can pair it with an offense that can stay on the field and slowly bring the talent level up through recruiting over the next few years, I think we will field some good teams in the short term and maybe some very good teams down the road.

 

[charsibb]

I have no proof, but I THINK Taggart knows how to call a timeout...

[Knightfan41]

Any chance of immediate success?  Realistically what does Taggart have to work with? 

 

BTW whenever I use the name Taggart I cannot help but think of this...

 

[Who'sYourData?]

Honestly, I think Taggart has as much or more to work with than Holtz started with three years ago.  Leavitt coached and recruited with the philosphy of not being precise but trying to hit the home run.  This produced teams with energy, passion, suprisingly good play and little depth.  Holtz went for depth but didn't take as many high risk chances.  So there was more depth but less splash.  In any case, over the last few years and three different coaches the quality of recruit seems to be higher in Tampa than in Orlando.  Whether they can produce is another question altogether. 

 

But...Taggart did inherit some of the kind of players he needs to run his offense.  This is rather strange since the offense is a polar opposite of the Holtz offense.  But Holtz did manage to reel in two quality TE's that are going to love playing for Taggart.  Taggart managed to snag two desperately needed FBs that both look like they will play and contribute early.  On offense, Taggart needs QB and RB to develop quickly in order for the offense to work, the other pieces are in place.

 

Two years ago the defense was Top 5 in the country in TFLs.  Last year was a complete disaster, but our front seven looks as good or better than the front seven from two years ago.  The question is whether the coaching staff in place can coach these guys up on defense and bring back the attitude.

 

All in all, I think there is enough talent on the team to win 9+ games, but it is asking a lot for the players to gel and grasp the system that quickly in one offseason.

 

Yes, I think it can happen quickly but have my doubts that it will.