Eugene, Ore. – Oregon has hired South Florida’s Willie Taggart as its next football coach, the school announced Wednesday.
ESPN reports Taggart will be officially introduced at a press conference Thursday morning. Taggart replaces Mark Helfrich, who was fired by Oregon a week ago after going 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Pac-12 this season.
Taggart and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen were the two finalists for the Oregon job, a source said.
Taggart had been at USF for four seasons, increasing his win total from two in his first season to four and then eight. This year’s 10-2 record was the best in school history.
Taggart also was an assistant at Stanford from 2007 to 2009, and head coach at Western Kentucky from 2010 to 2012. When Taggart was at Stanford, he helped recruit quarterback Andrew Luck.
