FAU football fires head coach Willie Taggart after falling short of bowl eligibility
The Willie Taggart era is over at Florida Atlantic University after three seasons.
FAU director of athletics Brian White announced a leadership change for the football program on Saturday, citing a need to address "the lack of on-field success" during Taggart's tenure.
The Owls lost Saturday's regular-season finale against Western Kentucky 32-31 in overtime, dropping their record to 5-7 and missing a postseason bowl for the second consecutive season.
Taggart finished with a 15-18 overall record and 11-11 mark in Conference USA play in three seasons as head coach.
FAU qualified for postseason play in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, losing 25-10 to the Memphis Tigers in the Montgomery Bowl.
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"This evening, we made a change in leadership with the Florida Atlantic University football program," White said in a statement. "It was a difficult decision, as we have tremendous respect for Willie Taggart. He has represented FAU with class and character.
"A national search will begin immediately to identify and recruit the best coach to lead FAU Football as we begin play in the American Athletic Conference next season."
Taggart was hired as FAU's seventh head football coach on Dec. 11, 2019, two days after previous head coach Lane Kiffin resigned to take the head coaching job at Ole Miss. He signed a five-year contract worth $750,000 per year.
That hiring came less than a month after Taggart was fired midseason by Florida State. He finished with a 9-12 record (6-9 ACC) in less than two years as the Seminoles head coach.
FAU's nationwide coaching search comes as the university prepares to join the American Athletic Conference in July 2023.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU football fires Willie Taggart after missing bowl eligibility again
