TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Before Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher officially accepted the Texas A&M job Friday, the Seminoles had already started working to find his replacement.
FSU has not been tasked with hiring a head coach since legendary coach Bobby Bowden took over the program in 1976. Fisher was Bowden's head-coach-in-waiting, seamlessly moving up and leading the team for eight seasons.
The Seminoles have identified at least two strong candidates: first-year Oregon coach Willie Taggart and second-year Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente.
Taggart, who spent four seasons at USF before taking over the Ducks last season, fills several FSU needs.
Taggart, 41, is from Bradenton. He helped USF and Western Kentucky steadily improve during the first seven seasons of his head coaching career and later led Oregon to a 7-5 record after a 4-8 campaign in 2016.
Taggart served as a running backs coach under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford from 2007-2009 before helping his alma mater, Western Kentucky, reach its first bowl game in school history in 2012. USF improved from 2-10 in his first season in 2013 to 10-2 in his last at 2016, making him one of the hottest coaching candidates in the country at the time.
Taggart's ties within the state would help FSU maintain its recruiting edge against Miami, Florida and UCF developed during Fisher's tenure.
Fuente led Virginia Tech to its first ACC championship game appearance in five years last season, earning ACC Coach of the Year honors in his first year replacing legendary Hokies coach Frank Beamer. The Hokies lost to Clemson in the title game, but they finished 10-4 in 2016 and are 9-3 this season.
Virginia Tech plucked Fuente from Memphis, where he finished 19-6 in his final two seasons of his four-year tenure.
New USF coach Charlie Strong also is among potential candidates. With the job officially open following Fisher's departure on Friday, the school expects other prominent coaches to express interest in the vacancy.
UCF coach Scott Frost is not considered an FSU candidate, with signs strongly pointing to Frost taking over at Nebraska, his alma mater. If Frost surprises and rejects the Cornhuskers, it would likely be because he is sticking with the Knights.
