Florida State football: Debunking the rumors flying around the FSU program

Tallahassee Democrat

Rumors have been flying everywhere following Florida State's loss to Wake Forest Saturday night.

The Seminoles (3-4, 2-3 ACC) fell 22-20 at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. to the Demon Deacons (6-1, 2-1 ACC) after missing a 50-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining that would have put FSU ahead.

Numerous rumors about FSU coach Willie Taggart's future, potential replacements, and how involved he was in the play calling against Wake have run rampant across social media since the conclusion of the Wake game.

FSU Athletics Director David Coburn speaks at a meeting with the Florida State University Athletics Association Thursday, June 27, 2019.

FSU Director of Athletics David Coburn spoke to the Democrat about the rumors.

"There is a lot of complete nonsense floating around out there right now, and it is a shame that the Democrat and I even have to address it. But, that is the world we live in now. People are looking for clicks, not for real information," Coburn said.

"Virtually all of this stuff is complete fabrication, and it is particularly disturbing when supposedly responsible publications put this junk out there, and then people start to believe it."

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Here's the real story, according to the Democrat's sources.

Rumor #1: FSU has made the decision to move on from Willie Taggart

The first rumor was that FSU officials had made the decision to move on from Taggart and were prepared to engage in talks with Taggart's representatives about his buyout.

Sources have said that this isn't accurate and FSU isn't ready to go there at this point in time. Of course, the future depends on how many games FSU wins the rest of the season – and that trek starts Saturday.

FSU officials did have a meeting – that was more of a conference call – Sunday, but Taggart's buyout was not discussed at that time.

With the loss to Wake, Taggart is 8-11 during his time at FSU and there's no doubt that he needs to start winning games if he wants to continue to be the head coach of the Seminoles.

Taggart has said multiple times that FSU is close to getting things back on track. If the Seminoles had just made a few more plays they could be 6-1 right now with the only loss coming against Clemson.

The missed field goal against Wake, quarterback James Blackman missing a wide-open Tamorrion Terry against Virginia, and Levonta Taylor or Dontavious Jackson falling on the football against Boise State are all plays that would have had a major impact on those games and could potentially have led to wins.

But is it poor coaching or poor execution or a combination of the two that have led to the Seminoles not making those plays? Or, is it just a particularly painful run of bad luck?

Taggart's contract in the spotlight:

If FSU fires Taggart at the end of this year, FSU would owe him just over $17 million. His buyout states that if he is fired without cause before his contract is over he is entitled to 85% of the remaining contract.

If FSU was to let Taggart go before Oct. 31, FSU would owe him just under $18.2 million.

"For the record, we have not been in contact with our Coach’s agent, period," Coburn told the Democrat.

Rumor #2: Urban Meyer is FSU's top target to replace Taggart

FootballScoop.com reported Monday that former Utah, Florida, and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was the primary target to replace Taggart if he is indeed fired this year.

Multiple sources vehemently denied this and stated that FSU wouldn't consider hiring Urban Meyer.

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Meyer has retired twice in the last decade from Florida in 2010 and Ohio State following the 2018 season. He won two national titles in 2006 and 2008 at UF.

But Meyer also left the program in terrible shape with regards to the roster and the culture around the program. It has taken the Gators years to get back to being a top-tier program.

He also won a title with Ohio State in 2014. Meyer left the Buckeyes in much better shape than he did the Gators.

Meyer has been mentioned as the most likely candidate at Southern Cal if the Trojans fire Clay Helton.

But don't expect to see him Garnet and Gold.

"If Coach were hit by a bus tomorrow, we would not target Coach Meyer, period," Coburn said. "I say that with all due respect to Coach Meyer, but we would not target Steve Spurrier either."

Rumor #3: Taggart has taken back some play-calling responsibilities from Kendal Briles

FSU has had two poor offensive showings in back-to-back weeks against Clemson and Wake, and rumors were flying that Taggart had taken some play-calling responsibilities from offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.

Taggart said during his Monday press conference that he wasn't any more involved in the play calling this week, and he's always somewhat involved in the play calling on both sides of the ball.

Sources said that Taggart was much more involved in the offensive play calling last week and against Wake than any of the previous games this season, but that Briles was still the one calling the plays.

He may not have been calling the plays, but he was strongly suggesting some play calls to Briles during the game with the implication that Briles needed to run them.

FSU's offense put up its second-lowest point total of the season against Wake and its third-lowest yards per play total of the season. Wake had allowed 7.1 and 7.5 yards per play to Boston College and Louisville in the two games prior to FSU.

The Seminoles did have opportunities, but two red zone turnovers and Ricky Aguayo's missed field goal took a potential 17 points off the board for FSU.

"We just need to focus on winning football games and our fans need to focus on coming out and supporting this team," Coburn said.

Reach Wayne McGahee III at wmcgahee@tallahassee.com.