FSU Football hiring Ron Dugans a huge win for 2019 season

FSU football has inked a deal to bring home former star receiver and Tallahassee native Ron Dugans to join the staff of Willie Taggart in 2019.

For weeks now, fans of FSU football has been on the edge of their seats with news about the Seminoles for the upcoming season – with everything from top recruits coming in to changes on the coaching staff being the subject of conversation…and for some fans of the Noles, the subject of their never ending criticism.

Well, sorry to disappoint those pessimist out there in garnet and gold but head coach Willie Taggart has plenty of reason to be smiling with the news that broke Sunday night that the Seminoles have made an assistant coaching hire I have been begging for over the course of the last year.

Taggart has hired former FSU football star receiver Ron Dugans to coach that position in Tallahassee starting next season, a move both sides say was the best thing for the program and the former Seminole.

"“Ron Dugans is a respected teacher and recruiter who understands the culture we are building and the benefits of playing at Florida State,” Taggart said.“I am extremely excited to be back at Florida State,” Dugans said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way he (Taggart) runs a program and that helps me come in and hit the ground running because I know exactly what he expects from me as a member of his staff.”"

Taggart earlier posted a tweet with the hash tag #DaDonk, which alludes to the car the Dugans would use to drive around South Florida when he coaches the Miami Hurricanes’ receivers the last three seasons and would post about on social media

I know that I have been called a homer before by some FSU football fans who are looking for any excuse to criticize Taggart – and I will proudly wear that title, thank you – but there is no way in which this move is not a home run for the Seminoles, for Taggart and for everyone else in the garnet and gold.

From the on field factor, you get someone who did a great job of turning around the Canes’ receivers the last few years and built them into both good pass catchers and run blockers – something that will be needed with the Gulf Coast offense. His coaching will make young FSU football receivers like Keyshawn Helton and Tamorrion Terry even better.

It’s a move that allows David Kelly, a long time assistant who came back to the sideline for Taggart last season more out of desperation when Dugans turned the Noles down, to go back to the off field job he had in Oregon – something he said he wanted in previous interviews.

More importantly, it quiets down those pessimist for a while who have been craving a big get for the Seminoles this offseason. Between a recruiting class that has 11 four or five star players according to Rivals.com and the assistant coaching hires of Kendal Briles and Dugans would be one heck of an offseason for the Seminoles.

After all the talk when Taggart first took the job about bringing back former FSU football players to the program, having a second one on the coaching staff – along with the only undefeated head coach in program history, Odell Haggins – continues to fulfill that promise.