Part I: Exclusive interview with Florida State coach Willie Taggart

It's time to get to know Florida State's new head football coach.

Willie Taggart sat down and spoke with Tallahassee Democrat FSU beat writers Wayne McGahee III and Curt Weiler in an exclusive interview about a number of different topics -- including the lead-up to his arrival at FSU, growing up an FSU fan, and what his first few days as head coach were like.

This will be the first part of a three-part Q&A series that will be released this week.

Part I focuses on Taggart's memories of FSU growing up and meeting with Bobby Bowden for the first time.

Q. What was your first memory of Florida State football?

A. I get asked that question all the time. I can’t necessarily picture the first thing, but I remember Florida State won a lot. Won a lot of ball games. That Miami-Florida State rivalry was crazy in the state during that era. Then when Spurrier got to Florida, Florida came about then. Growing up it was Miami-Florida State. You remember Edgar Bennett and Casey Weldon and those guys. Amp Lee. That was my team. Playing little league football, when my game was over and there was a Miami-Florida State game going on and everyone going out to their cars and a little TV and watching the game.

Q. You mentioned the Florida-Florida State rivalry and the Miami-Florida State rivalry. Which game is more important for you to win?

A. Both. They’re both the same importance to me. The big three here in the state, and you want to be the best team in the state so you’ve got to beat them all. That’s just the way it is. ‘Noles don’t like losing to either one of them.

Q. Was there one player or maybe a couple of Florida State players from your childhood that were your guys?

A. Amp Lee. When I first started watching Florida State it was more Amp Lee and Edgar Bennett, Casey Weldon that stood out when I first started paying attention to who all was on the team and not just Florida State winning. Then I just started following them after that. If you played for the Seminoles you were one of my favorites.

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Q. There have been a couple really good coaches here prior to your arrival. Bobby Bowden is one of the legends of college football. What was it like meeting him for the first time as the head coach?

A. I was nervous. Not even meeting him, but the first time calling him. What are you going to say to Bobby Bowden? Coach Bowden is one of those people that knows how to make you feel welcome when he first meets you and takes that edge off when you meet him. He smiles and talks to you and you’re kind of like, ‘Man, it’s alright.’ Going in he’s one of the greatest coaches out there, and you’re getting ready to talk to Bobby Bowden. Someone you’ve grown up idolizing and seen him do great things. You’re getting ready to go over and talk with him and sit down with him. I was a little nervous. But after shaking his hand, seeing the smile on his face, and seeing how he was excited about us being there as well all the nervous bugs went out of me and I wanted to ask him a lot of questions.

It was great because coach Bowden remembers everything. You could talk about a game back in the 90s and he remembered it just like that. It was cool listening to some of the stories. When I went to meet him I had Greg Frey and Odell (Haggins) with me so just to be able to hear those guys talk about some old stories was real nice for me. Seeing coach Bowden excited to talk about those things, you can tell how important Florida State football is for him.

Q. What is the biggest piece of advice he had for you?

A. Be me and coach the team. He said you’ll do well. Just coach the team and continue to be me and who I am. It was pretty much it. I told him to come out. I want him looking over my shoulder. ‘I don’t care if you’re looking over my shoulder. I hope you’ll give me some advice if you see things. I hope you won’t keep it a secret. I want to know.’

That’s important. He gets it. He’s seen it all. More importantly, he knows what a winning team looks like. He knows how a winning team practices and how they go about carrying their business. If he can shoot me any pointers I’m welcoming to those things. I want him to come out. I told him I’d get a parking space for him and have the golf cart over there and bring him on out whenever he wants. He doesn’t have to call or anything. He can just show up. This is his program.

Q. What was your initial reaction when Florida State offered you the head coaching position?

A. I couldn’t stop smiling. Like wow. It was one of those dreams come true. You work your tail off to get here. It happens. It goes back to hard work pays off. I thought it was going to be years from now before that happened. It’s crazy how it all happened and how fast it happened. I don’t know. I was excited. It was kind of bittersweet because we had it rolling at Oregon. Things were going well, and the people were great. The administration was great. Meeting Phil Knight and his love for Oregon, football, and recruiting was big time to be around him.

Everything was going well, and then this job opened. It was like, ‘Damn. I’ve got to make a decision and it’s going to be a tough one.’ You’ve got some good kids that you brought there. But it’s your dream job. You never said when you wanted it to be, just that you wanted it to be. It was a decision that I had to make, and I think it was the right decision. I’m excited about it. I’m here now. I understand the expectations. That’s why you want to be here. For those expectations. I’m excited about each day and being a part of that process. You’re here now so let’s build it up like you always envisioned it to be.

Part II will be released on Wednesday detailing Taggart's first few weeks as FSU's head coach and his family.