College Coaching Carousel: With time, Taggart can return FSU to glory days

At first glance, it might appear Willie Taggart isn't Florida State material, having compiled a 47-50 record in eight years as head coach at Oregon (one season), USF (four), and Western Kentucky (three).

Dig a little deeper, however, and you'll see he's the perfect man for the job in Tallahassee. Taggart is a masterful recruiter, which he proved this past offseason when he reinvigorated a recruiting class that was ranked in the 60s when Jimbo Fisher left Florida State for Texas A&M. He has also shown he can resurrect a program, rebuilding USF and Western Kentucky from shambles. And if he has his way, Taggart's "Gulf Coast offense" is sure to make Florida State football fun again.

But don't expect too much success in Year 1. Taggart is a combined 11-25 in his first year coaching a new team, compared to 36-25 afterward. It takes time for him to implement and recruit for his system, but when it starts to catch on, Florida State will be one of the most exciting programs in the country.

Offensive philosophy

In his last year at FSU, Fisher's offense was beginning to grow stale. His complex pro-style system wasn't effective when his team, ravaged by injuries, didn't have a major talent advantage. He failed to create beneficial matchups for his elite athletes, and the Seminoles sputtered as a result.

That won't be a problem during Taggart's tenure. His offense ascribes to the space-and-pace philosophy of playing at a breakneck speed while trying to create one-on-one matchups with your best players in space. Like most space-and-pace offenses, FSU will rely on a run-heavy scheme littered with zone reads and RPOs like this one:

The offensive line has been a huge problem for the Seminoles in recent years, and while Taggart won't be able to improve his linemen immediately, he'll make their jobs easier with pre-snap movement, misdirection, and quick-hitting plays. He uses a lot of deception on offense, dressing up simple concepts to make the defense anticipate something more complicated.

Taggart’s first big decision in Tallahassee came when he named Deondre Francois the starting quarterback. Francois, who was destined for greatness after his prolific redshirt freshman season in 2016, is coming off a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. The redshirt junior has dynamic arm talent and should be able to run Taggart’s pace-and-space offense efficiently.

The player who will benefit most from Taggart's tenure is sophomore running back Cam Akers, who ran for 1,024 yards and seven touchdowns on 194 carries in 2017, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Akers is one of the most exciting talents in college football, and Taggart's uptempo offense should only create more opportunities for him. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound backup Jacques Patrick should also get his share of touches.

Defensive philosophy

As an offensive-minded head coach, it's vital for Taggart to hitch his wagon to a great defensive coordinator, and he'll hope he did so with former Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett.

This is Barnett's first opportunity to take full control of the defense, so it will be important for him to iron out any wrinkles during the early portion of the season. He does have experience calling the plays, and Michigan State still routinely finished near the top in team defense.

Barnett will deploy an attacking 4-3 defense, which is almost the opposite of the conservative 3-4 defense FSU ran under Charles Kelly. Barnett wants his defenders to play downhill, gap-sound defense, which should play well with the high-level athletes he has at his disposal.

A player to watch is junior defensive end Brian Burns. The 20-year-old is one of the most talented pass-rushers in the country, possessing uncommon athletic traits and an uncanny aptitude as a speed rusher. Don't be surprised if he's among the nation's leaders in sacks in 2018, as Florida State fans will be seeing a lot of this:

Aside from Burns, Barnett inherited a young and extremely talented secondary led by sophomore cornerback Stanford Samuels III.

The FSU defense is young and filled with blue-chip talent, but it may be a year away from reaching its potential.

Season outlook

Ultimately, this season will come down to how Francois runs Taggart offense. The FSU offense has the potential to be one of the most potent in the ACC if Francois is playing to his potential.

A top-25 finish would be an amazing start for Taggart, and it's certainly not out of the question. It's going to be tough to beat out Clemson in the ACC Atlantic, but a second-place finish should be expected.

Other entries in this series:

• Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee)
• Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State)
• Herm Edwards (Arizona State)
• Chad Morris (Arkansas)
• Scott Frost (Nebraska)
• Dan Mullen (Florida)
• Kevin Sumlin (Arizona)

John Owning is a football writer at theScore. He has written for Bleacher Report and Football Insiders. He was also the lead NFL content editor at FanRag Sports. John provides analysis on the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News and edits for The Quant Edge. Find him on Twitter @JohnOwning.