Editor’s note: This story first appeared Oct. 24. Florida State fired Willie Taggart on Sunday, Nov. 3.



Despite what you may have read earlier this week, the administration at Florida State doesn’t want to fire coach Willie Taggart.



That administration has a president planning to retire next year and an athletic director who was elevated from interim status because no suitable sitting athletic directors wanted the job when it opened in 2018. President John Thrasher and AD David Coburn have worked hard to restructure Florida State’s athletic department so the next president will have a robust pool of AD candidates. Neither man wants to fire, then hire a football coach before all that can take place. They don’t want to pay buyouts going and coming. They want nothing more than for the Seminoles to win their final five games and enjoy a trip to a quality mid-tier bowl. They don’t want Urban Meyer, no matter Taggart’s proximity to any...