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United States Willie Taggart is a seasoned American football coach with extensive experience leading collegiate programs and currently serving in a key NFL coaching role. He brings a proven record of developing talent and building competitive teams, making him a valuable asset for strategic leadership and development discussions.
Collaboration focused on building a new community center to provide youth and adult education, workforce development, and year-round programming, aiming to give back to the Manatee County community where Willie Taggart was raised.
As head coach at FAU, Taggart's program partnered with Opendorse for the 'Ready' program, providing student-athletes with tools to build their personal brands, particularly in relation to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.
Willie Taggart was born on August 27, 1976, in Bradenton, Florida. He developed his early football skills at Manatee High School, where he achieved first-team All-State and All-Conference honors as a senior, leading the Hurricanes to a 5A state championship game appearance. His collegiate career continued at Western Kentucky University (WKU) as a four-year starting quarterback from 1995 to 1998. During his time at WKU, Taggart set the NCAA Division I record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 3,997 yards and was a two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, an honor for the top offensive player in I-AA football. His jersey number was retired by Western Kentucky in 1999, a testament to his impact as a player.
Taggart transitioned to coaching at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, holding various offensive assistant roles from 1999 to 2006. Notably, he served as co-offensive coordinator under Jack Harbaugh when WKU won the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship in 2002. From 2007 to 2009, he served as running backs coach at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh, where he was instrumental in the development of Toby Gerhart, a Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman runner-up. In 2010, Taggart returned to Western Kentucky as head coach, ending the team’s 26-game losing streak in his first year and guiding them to a bowl-eligible 7-5 record in 2012. He then took on head coaching roles at South Florida (2013-2016), leading them to a 10-2 record and a No. 19 final ranking in 2016, and at Oregon (2017), achieving a 7-5 record. His tenure as head coach continued at Florida State (2018-2019) and Florida Atlantic (2020-2022), where he led the Owls to the 2020 Montgomery Bowl.
In 2023, Taggart joined the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens as a running backs coach, a role he continues to hold, adding the assistant head coach title in 2025. In his first season, his running backs unit contributed to the Ravens’ AFC North championship, ranking third in rushing touchdowns (20) and eighth in rushing yards (1,696) among all NFL running back rooms. Under his guidance in 2024, the Ravens’ running backs led the NFL in yards per rush (5.6) and rushes of 20-plus yards (21), also finishing in the top five for rushing yards, scrimmage yards, total touchdowns, and rushing touchdowns. His 26-year coaching career demonstrates a consistent trajectory of leadership, talent development, and strategic contribution across both collegiate and professional football levels.
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