Deion Sanders says Willie Taggart to join his Colorado staff

The swirling speculation about former FSU and USF coach Willie Taggart joining Deion Sanders’ staff in Colorado has segued from conjecture to nearly concrete.

With Sanders himself being the source.

Speaking on a recent podcast posted to YouTube, the new Buffaloes coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer and FSU icon said Taggart will be joining his staff in Boulder. So will former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who served as an analyst on Sanders’ staff at Jackson State last season and was a Cowboys assistant during Sanders’ five seasons as a player in Dallas (1995-99).

“Taggart’s coming, too, by the way,” Sanders said on the Folsom Frenzy Podcast (at the 4:46 mark). “Coach Zim is coming too, by the way. So another two head coaches, one in the NFL as well as the collegiate field.

“But not only that, forget the titles. They know this game and they know kids. And they’ve been capable of making tremendous decisions with the kids and the young men in mind. So that’s what I adore the most, understanding how to establish the relationships with these young men.”

Taggart, dismissed in late November after three seasons at Florida Atlantic (15-18 overall record), didn’t respond to a text message late Tuesday morning. Sanders didn’t specify what role Taggart would serve on Colorado’s staff.

A lifelong Seminoles fan raised in Palmetto, Taggart, 46, was fired as FSU coach in November 2019 after winning only nine of 21 games. His journeyman coaching career, of course, is highlighted by his resuscitation of USF’s program, which managed only six wins his first two seasons (2013-14) before going 19-7 with two bowl appearances in the last two.

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