Official: Oregon hires USF coach Willie Taggart

Oregon has found its new coach.

The school officially announced South Florida coach Willie Taggart as its new coach Wednesday afternoon. The news was first reported Wednesday morning by ESPN.

Taggart has turned around South Florida in his four years with the program. The Bulls went 10-2 in 2016 and will play in the Birmingham Bowl vs. South Carolina.

“I am grateful for the trust that President [Michael] Schill and [athletic director] Rob Mullens have put in me to be the next head coach of the Oregon football program, and I thank them for the opportunity,” Taggart said in a school statement. “Oregon has a strong national presence and a proud recent history of playing among the nation’s elite, and I look forward to the challenge of upholding the excellence. I can’t wait to get started.”

The 40-year-old former Western Kentucky quarterback came to South Florida before the 2013 season after three seasons at WKU. The Bulls were 2-10 in Taggart’s first year — a year after going 3-9 — and improved to 4-8 and 8-5 over the previous two seasons.

USF’s rushing offense has been one of the best in the country in 2016. The Bulls have two 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Quinton Flowers and running back Marlon Mack and the team has run for over 3,500 yards at 6.7 yards a carry.

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Before he got the WKU job in 2010, Taggart was the running backs coach at Stanford for three years under now-Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. ESPN said Harbaugh vouched for him during the Oregon hiring process.

Oregon fired coach Mark Helfrich last week after four years with the team. Helfrich replaced Chip Kelly when Kelly left for the NFL. The Ducks were 4-8 in 2016, the first losing season in Eugene since 2004.

Taggart is the second coach from the American Athletic Conference to be hired for a Power Five job in the last two days. Tuesday, Baylor said it had hired Temple coach Matt Rhule as its new head coach. Temple tied with USF atop the East Division in the conference with a 7-1 record and won the AAC title game over Navy.

South Florida co-offensive coordinator T.J. Weist will be the team’s interim coach for the Birmingham Bowl.

“We will work quickly, but with careful thought and discussion to find our next football coach,” USF athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “We have the outstanding support of our community, and are confident that we’ll soon find the best and most qualified coach to lead our Football program. I want to thank Willie Taggart for the leadership, energy, and excitement he brought to our program over the last four years. The achievements of our football program both on and off the field speak for themselves. We wish Willie and his family the very best.”

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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