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FSU Football: Willie Taggart disrespected in ranking of ACC coaches

By Jason Parker

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 01: Florida State Seminoles fans during the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Gammons/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 01: Florida State Seminoles fans during the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Gammons/Getty Images) /
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FSU football will be rocking and rolling with a new head coach this season – one who got slighted in a way in the rankings by one columnist.

For just the second time in the last 42 seasons, the FSU football team will be debuting a new head coach when the Seminoles take the field for the season opener on Labor Day against the Virginia Tech Hokies – as Willie Taggart gets ready to bring his lethal simplicity into a program that badly needed a pick me up after the last couple of seasons.

While there is no denying that the previous “leader” of the Noles had a good run to start his eight seasons before taking a knee and bolting early, Taggart has energized the program and has those in garnet and gold looking forward to what will take place in 2018 and beyond – even without having led the Seminoles in a game that counts.

It is that last face that has some (understandably) not willing to anoint Taggart as the next great FSU football coach or maybe the best coach in the ACC. That being said, there is one columnists that took a hot take that might have some Seminoles shaking their head.

Gene Sapakoff from the the Charleston (SC) Post and Courier ranked the coaches from the ACC and SEC as who he thinks are the best of the best. We’ll ignore the SEC since it doesn’t matter and focus on the conference home of FSU Football. Here’s how he ranked the top half of ACC coaches entering 2018:

"No. 1 Dabo Swinney, Clemson (2nd Overall)No. 2 Mark Richt, Miami (4th)No. 3 Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech (6th)No. 4 Dave Clawson, Wake Forest (8th)No. 5 David Cutcliffe, Duke (10th)No. 6 Bobby Petrino, Louisville (11th)No. 7 WILLIE TAGGART, FLORIDA STATE (12TH)"

Okay, maybe I am just being a FSU football homer on this one, but there is no way that Willie Taggart is behind names like Cutcliffe and Clawson even without having coached a game in the conference yet. I also will not say that Clawson is even close to being the second best coach in the Atlantic Division and Petrino is now going to deal with life after Lamar Jackson.

Next: FSU Football winners and losers from 2018 NFL Draft

Look, I’m not saying the Seminoles are going to go 13-0 and be the top seed in the College Football Playoff this season – I mean, I’m not going to turn it down if it happens – but those who think FSU football is going to go 7-6 again this season are in for a rude awakening…and Taggart will prove he is more than worthy to be coaching in the ACC.

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