Tag: Willie Taggart

Ravens HC John Harbaugh gives thoughts on hire of RBs coach Willie Taggart

Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh gave his throughs on the team’s hire of running backs coach Willie Taggart

The Baltimore Ravens made multiple shake-ups to their coaching staff over the course of Wednesday, bringing in new faces and moving others around the organization. One of the moves was hiring former FAU head coach Willie Taggart as the team’s new running backs coach, taking over the role from Craig Ver Steeg.

Following the announcement of the move, head coach John Harbaugh put out a statement with his thoughts on Taggart and what he can bring to the team’s offense. Harbaugh mentioned how Taggart has been a successful coach at the college level, and that his ability to build strong relationships will help Baltimore’s offense moving forward.

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REPORT: Willie Taggart, a former target for Deion Sanders, expected to join Baltimore Ravens staff

Once expected join Deion Sanders at Colorado, Willie Taggart is now reportedly heading to the Baltimore Ravens

The Colorado Buffaloes had been waiting and hoping that former Florida State head coach Willie Taggart was going to make his way over. Deion Sanders even stated that Taggart and Mike Zimmer would be “walking through that door” back in January, although nothing came of it.

Now, it looks like Taggart is leaving the college world altogether and going to the NFL. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Taggart is set to become the new running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

Taggart is now with John Harbaugh, and he worked with Harbaugh at Stanford and played for Jack Harbaugh during his days as the quarterback at Western Kentucky.

Taggart had been tied to Colorado way back in December after he was fired as Florida Atlantic’s head coach in November, and it was surprising to see his name disappear recently despite the comments from Coach Prime.

Zimmer was also a big-name assistant that was rumored to come to Boulder, although Charles Kelly is running the defense and Zimmer still hasn’t made his way to Boulder.

Nonetheless, Taggart is going to the NFL as an assistant for the Ravens, and the Buffs staff is still looking good.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.   

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How Dan Lanning fared in comparison to other Oregon first-year head coaches

Dan Lanning notched 10 wins and a bowl victory in his first season with the Ducks. How does that compare to other first-year coaches in Oregon history?

A lot of time after the end of the 2022 college football season has been spent looking at first-year head coaches and assessing how they did at their respective programs.

For Dan Lanning, the season-long grades have been quite fair, with many crediting him and his team for an impressive 10-win season that resulted in a respectable bowl win and a heap of excitement and anticipation for the future in Eugene. While a lot of time has been spent comparing Lanning to other first-year head coaches in the nation, we wanted to take a second to look back at Oregon history and see how he compares to other Oregon coaches in their first years with the Ducks.

Lanning was able to notch 10 wins, but losses to both Oregon State and Washington were tough to swallow. How does that compare to the likes of Mario Cristobal, or Mark Helfrich, or Mike Bellotti?

In order to get a good breakdown, I went back through what I like to refer to as the “modern era” of Oregon coaches. While the Ducks have been around since 1894, a total of 39 head coaches came through the program, oftentimes only spending one or two seasons in Eugene. Until the legendary Len Casanova came along in 1951, no single coach had spent more than 5 seasons with the program. So that’s going to be where I start our modern era. Since 1951, there have been only 11 head coaches at Oregon.

How did Lanning’s first year compare to the other 10 guys when it comes to the start of their tenures in Eugene? Let’s take a look:

Willie Taggart, several Pac-12 coaches named among worst coaching hires in past decade

When it comes to some of the worst head coaching hires over the past decade, the Pac-12 unfortunately comes up a lot.

The past decade or so has not been a banner time for the Pac-12 when it comes to football.

There have been some high moments, such as Oregon and Washington making it to the College Football Playoff, but there have been multiple low moments as well. USC — an historically great program — was an afterthought for several years, and the teams at the bottom of the conference floundered season after season.

Even the Ducks struggled mightily for a few seasons while they tried to find the right coach to replace Chip Kelly before landing on Mario Cristobal and then Dan Lanning.

Of course, football is about much more than just coaching, but the guy making the calls on the sideline usually has a major hand to play in whether a team is successful or not. This past week, 247Sports put out a ranking of some of the worst coaching hires over the past decade.

It feels fitting that a handful of Pac-12 coaches were on there, as well as one man with close ties to the Ducks. Here’s how Pac-12 coaches fared in the rankings:

Former Oregon football players file suit against UO, Willie Taggart, NCAA, seeking $125.5 million

The lawsuit against the NCAA, UO, and Willie Taggart filed by two former Oregon players is now seeing $125.5 million for pain and suffering, according to a new report.

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You may remember a few years ago when there was a medical scandal inside the Oregon Ducks football program that left a pair of players hospitalized in 2017 after reported strenuous offseason workouts resulted in rhabdomyolysis and other injuries.

Those players, Doug Brenner and Sam Poutasi, are now reportedly seeking $100 million in damages from the NCAA as well as a subsequent $25.5 million in damages for pain and suffering from the NCAA, the University of Oregon, and former Oregon Ducks’ head coach Willie Taggart, who was at the head of the program at the time.

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The first report of this came from ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Sunday.

While the trial is not new but was filed back in 2019, it is back in the news after Brenner added $100 million damages claims to the lawsuit. Brenner alleges in the lawsuit he sustained lifelong injuries during a series of controversial workouts in 2017.

Along with Taggart, former Oregon strength coach Irele Oderinde is named in the lawsuit as well.

“The lawsuit alleges negligence against all defendants, accusing Taggart and Oderinde of imposing physical punishment on the players, failing to prohibit it, and failing to ensure that Oderinde had adequate training to do his job,” Denich wrote on ESPN. “According to the lawsuit, Oderinde did not carry industry-required certification to be a strength and conditioning coach at Oregon.”

The trial is scheduled to start on Tuesday in Eugene, and according to the ESPN report, both Taggart and Oderinde are expected to be there in person.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

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21 people that can ruffle the feathers of every Oregon Ducks fan

There are just people that know what buttons to push for instant irritation. Here’s a list of those that do just that for most Duck fans.

For one reason or another, there are just certain people in this world that can push your buttons to cause instant irritation. For Oregon Duck fans, that list can be lengthy, and sometimes it’s through no fault of their own.

Whether if it’s just having that ability to defeat Oregon on a yearly basis, saying something derogatory towards the Ducks, or leaving them high and dry for their supposed “dream job,” a select group of people will forever be on the ****-list for Oregon fans.

This is a list of 20 people or entities that can put any Duck fan in a bad mood right away just by mentioning them. And while this list is in no particular order, we will mention first those that have really drawn the ire of every Oregon Duck fan young and old.

Florida Atlantic negotiating with Willie Taggart to bring him to the school

Florida Atlantic University is negotiating with Willie Taggart to bring him to the school to lead the Owls, according to multiple reports.

Florida Atlantic University is negotiating with Willie Taggart to bring him to the school to lead the Owls, according to multiple reports.

Florida State Reportedly Interested in Brian Kelly

Fast-forward 17 days and we have found claims that Florida State is indeed interested in Notre Dame’s Kelly as their next head coach.

When Florida State fired head coach Willie Taggart back on November 3 we were quick to tell you to be on the lookout for rumors about whoever your favorite head coach is to be taking the job in Tallahassee, Brian Kelly included.

Fast-forward 17 days and we have found claims that Florida State is indeed interested in Notre Dame’s Kelly as their next head coach.

Bud Elliott and Ingram Smith of NoleCast cite independent sources that Florida State has interest in Brian Kelly and give reasons behind why it would at least a hair of sense.

“Two people have told us FSU has interest in Brian Kelly”

“There’s a little bit of question about the fit, but the proven track record of hiring assistant coaches and having them get promoted to other jobs and hiring new ones who are as good or better is really impressive.”

“He’s a really good recruiter with his staff. I think he knows what goes on in the south east, because we know he’s recruited some of these guys, and not always gotten them, but we know that’s due to some of the academic stuff” 

-NoleCast Podcast on November 19, 2019

Elliott and Smith also discuss how Notre Dame’s academic standards and the difficulty winning big with them creates would make the Florida State job appealing to Kelly.

I get where they’re coming from and if you’re Florida State you should be looking anywhere and everywhere for a proven coach who is going to turn their recent sorry state of affairs around.  As much as I’m not a Florida State fan, they’re a team that the game of college football, or at least the ACC, is just better when they’re good.

My only question though: Why would Kelly have any interest in going to a Florida State program where a massive rebuild is needed just to get in the same ballpark as Clemson, let alone pass them?

How likely is it to happen?

On a scale of “Beating Bowling Green to Lennay Kekua”  I’d be somewhere near George O’Leary but short of Kekua.