Speculation and all else points to FSU announcing the hiring of Willie Taggart later today.  Showing it has its priorities in order, FSU has scheduled a team meeting with their new coach before any formal announcement. Taggart has long been FSU’s first choice, despite the fact that FSU had to deal with the same agent that most FSU fans wouldn’t welcome to Christmas dinner.

Taggart is a Florida guy with deep ties to FSU’s recruiting hotbeds. He is a well-regarded head coach with a strong CEO style of hiring great assistants and letting them do their jobs. This will be a welcome approach for most FSU fans who grew frustrated with the slow paced, methodical and boring pro-style offense and a program largely micro-managed under their former Coach.

Taggart will likely change all current recruiting dynamics in Florida. No other school’s recruits are safe with the fresh-faced Taggart blowing in to town. Look for FSU to post another Top-5 class after Taggart gets his team in order and back into the living rooms of many players in his focus.

Taggart will inherit a program absolutely loaded with talent, yet perhaps a bit deflated after being misled by their former coach for the better part of a week. FSU routinely grabbed some of the best talent in nation and now it belongs to Willie Taggart.  The program boasts some of the best facilities in the nation with a still new $16M practice facility, new locker rooms, new team break rooms and a commitment to build a “football only” facility in the very near future.  No administration or Booster program has done more or shown greater commitment to its football program than FSU.

Luring Taggart away from the riches of Nike’s support and the Oregon Ducks program is a coup for FSU’s Trustee Ed Burr and President John Thrasher, even if the school’s athletics department seemed flat-footed at Fisher’s departure.

FSU is the nation’s winningest football program since 1980.  It is a major national brand that will likely only be enhanced under Taggart’s tenure.  Taggart can endear himself to FSU faithful immediately by fighting the ACC and TV networks for fewer noon games and recruiting and training better game officials.  However, what he must first do is recruit and then win.  If that happens, everting else will take care of itself.