Willie Go/Strong Candidate

Earlier this week, the Willie Taggart era ended at USF, as Taggart departed form Tampa to become the head coach at the University of Oregon. While it wasn't unforeseeable, I had hoped against hope that his local ties and perhaps some unfinished business might keep him a Bull at least a year beyond what common sense would dictate. He's headed to Oregon in hopes of pursuing a lifelong dream - to become the first black head coach to win a national championship, a feat that is sadly nearly impossible at USF - and I wish him the best. It also becomes painfully evident that this is our lot in life: Every time USF tastes success, a school with more resources and a path to a national championship will be right there to snatch our coach up, and he'll likely go willingly; see the aforementioned more resources and path to a national championship.

Talk turned pretty quickly to who Taggart's successor would be. A few names surfaced, including one that would cause me to flip a table (Schiano) but at present, the bulk of the energy seems to be pointed towards Charlie Strong, who has flown to Tampa to interview for the position. While it's not yet a done deal, I will offer this humblebrag:

Flinging this turd against the wall early so I can claim it later: Charlie Strong fired, Willie Taggart snatched up, Strong to USF.

— Curtis (@80mins) October 7, 2016

Prediction aside, Strong makes a lot of sense to me, and in my opinion, to both sides. For Strong, USF offers an opportunity to remain a head coach following his firing at Texas, rather than returning to the coordinator ranks as so many ousted coaches do. Hell, he won't even need to change his hand sign. Some will point to his recent failure and firing at Texas as reason enough not pursue him, but I'll counter that his most recent stop at a comparable level - Louisville, in a still-auto-qualifying Big East - was a success. While I don't wish to damn any future success for Strong, his Texas stop would be the Peter principle at work.

I've been trolling Twitter pretty thoroughly, and as of this posting, nothing's gone final. Keep an eye on the foremost Bulls source, The Daily Stampede, for news as it develops.