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USA Herald was first to report that FSU landed new head coach Willie Taggart, and reports are that the annoucement is to be made here shortly.

More details on Taggart's contract to come shortly.

Why was FSU caught flat-footed?    

Rumors swirled for weeks about Texas A&M’s interest in FSU Coach Jimbo Fisher. Fisher’s agent Jimmy Sexton appears to be on a 365-day big marlin trolling tour, with the big marlin being huge contracts for his clients. Sexton’s tactics are well worn, but well known. Any Athletic Director worth his salt would have been equally as aggressive in lining up a successor to Fisher.  Sorry, it’s just business. So why did FSU suffer through a painful week of rumors and speculation only to end with Fisher abandoning ship and no new man in waiting?

Clearly, FSU President John Thrasher was caught off guard at the level of Fisher’s interest, having proclaimed that “Fisher can coach at FSU forever,” a week prior to Fisher’s exit. While Thrasher should be fairly criticized for loving an employee instead of managing him, such is a forgivable failure when so much emotion is involved in the sport of college football. Thrasher will likely not make that mistake again, but he needs to recognize this error.

The same forgiveness cannot be expected for FSU AD Stan Wilcox. Oversight of the football program is, directly, his job. While we do not know the structure under which Wilcox operates at FSU, he clearly works for the President, whatever approach it is needs to be revised. All impressions point to a genuinely cordial, professional, and respectful relationship between Thrasher and Wilcox.  However, and maybe it’s just his style, but numerous sources have noted the absence of Wilcox in high level news accounts about Fisher and instead that of President John Thrasher being fully engaged. If Thrasher is micro managing the football coach, given the state of the ACC, its anemic revenue relative to its peers and its endless hope and no revenue from the ACC Network, FSU’s less than impressive deal with Nike, one would be free to wonder what, exactly, Wilcox does at FSU. For none of the above point to any level of success.

Regardless of the relationships or management styles, Wilcox clearly failed to properly prepare for Fisher’s departure. To be fair to Wilcox, it’s hard to manage or control an employee who makes 8 times what you make and over whom your mutual boss seems to regularly swoon. However, it’s Wilcox job to do so and arguably, he didn’t do it very well for a man promoted to an academic VP who makes over $750,000 per year. Further analysis into the highest profile challenges facing FSU point to more confusion, if not weakness.