One month into his job as Oregon Ducks coach, Willie Taggart has yet to find a permanent place to live in Eugene.

Predictably, his go-go schedule since his Dec. 7 hiring as Mark Helfrich's successor caused his real estate search to take a backseat, and it's only going to get more complicated next week as he travels across the country recruiting up until national signing day on Feb. 1.

Most of his time so far has been spent at UO's football headquarters, the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. And when Taggart meets with his full roster Saturday for the first time in a big moment of his tenure so far, he'll lay down the ground rules for those still wishing to call the Ducks' program home.

"We're going to set a standard that we're going to hold everyone accountable to live up to and see who are the guys who want to live up to those standards," Taggart said Friday during a guest appearance on an in-house UO radio show. "The guys that don't want to live up to those standards might find themselves somewhere else."

During his 11-minute appearance Friday on "Duck Insider" (the full audio is below) Taggart sounded like a man who surveyed his new digs and came away impressed by the finishings but with concerns about the foundation. Looking over his roster, he said, he sees talent. The Ducks received good news in recent weeks when running back Royce Freeman, left tackle Tyrell Crosby and receiver Darren Carrington all announced they'll play for UO in 2017 rather than enter the NFL draft.

But it will take more than talent to rebound from a 4-8 record, the program's worst since 1991. Taggart is demanding more grit and focus.

"I think one thing we have to do is get our priorities back in place in what we came here to do," Taggart said. "They're excited but it's going to be different and there's going to be some adjustments and some things they're not going to like. But they're going to appreciate it and do some of the things and reap some of the benefits behind working hard and doing things the right way."

In the weight room, he wants players to "get bigger, bigger, bigger, stronger, stronger, stronger and faster and compete there."

It will be the first time many Ducks have heard that message in person.

By the time Taggart arrived for his introductory team meeting Dec. 8, it was late during UO's final week of the fall academic quarter and many players had already left town. He won't have much time to make introductions this weekend, either: On Monday, he said he'll attend the College Football Playoff national championship game in Tampa, the site of his last job coaching South Florida. A 247Sports.com report this week indicated that one assistant coaching in that game, Alabama offensive line coach Mario Cristobal, has been targeted by Taggart to coach the same position at UO.

Taggart will then attend the national coaches' association convention in Nashville before hitting the recruiting trail in earnest once the NCAA's "dead period" for recruiting ends Jan. 12.

Since his hiring, Taggart has been blunt that he wants to one day go to the playoff national championship game not as a visitor, but as a competitor. He repeated Friday that he left South Florida after four seasons because he believes UO gives him a chance to win a national title.

"You can't wait to really get everything in place and just start the process of what we're trying to build," Taggart said.

Helping UO build will be a handful of familiar faces. Though no position coaches under Helfrich are expected to be hired back -- Taggart's staff still has vacancies at offensive coordinator, along with coaches for quarterbacks and the defensive and offensive lines -- some graduate assistants remain. They are Kwame Agyeman, who worked with defensive backs the past two seasons; Matt Noyer, who assisted with receivers; and Ramsen Golpashin, who was assigned to the offensive line. Their responsibilities in 2017 have yet to be determined, UO spokesman Dave Williford said. (Graduate assistant T.J. Paganetti, who had worked under former defensive coordinator Brady Hoke in 2016, chose to leave UO prior to the staff changes.)

Longtime strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe, who joined UO in 1985, has a contract that runs through June. Williford added, however, that he did not know whether Radcliffe would remain involved with the football program going forward.

Though roster turnover is expected after a coaching change, only one player has announced his intention to transfer so far, in freshman defensive tackle Wayne Tei-Kirby, who will attend BYU. In early December, the 315-pound Idaho native wrote on social media that he didn't believe he fit into a 3-4 defensive scheme, which UO is expected revert back to in 2017 under new defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt.

On Saturday, a "big day," Taggart called it, the new coach will get a sense of who else on the roster will fit under his roof.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com