DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Florida State's athletic director is debunking a report that the school is targeting Urban Meyer to be its next head football coach.
David Coburn told the Tallahassee Democrat on Tuesday that the school has not been in contact with current coach Willie Taggart's agent, contrary to a report from FootballScoop.com that claimed the Seminoles have their sights set on Meyer.
Taggart has been scrutinized by many Florida State fans for the team's apparent decline since Jimbo Fisher bolted for Texas A&M in 2017.
The Seminoles are 8-11 since Taggart took over, including a 3-4 record this season. Florida State endured its first losing season since 1976 last year and missed a bowl game for the first time since 1982. Both streaks were the nation's longest.
A ranking of college football's top coaching salaries compiled by USA Today and released Tuesday lists Taggart as the 15th highest-paid coach in the nation. His buyout would cost FSU slightly more than $17 million.
Florida State was reportedly targeting the former Florida and Ohio State coach to replace Taggart if he is fired, but Coburn made it abundantly clear that FSU wouldn't consider hiring Meyer, who retired at the end of last season -- or another beloved Florida coach, for that matter.
"If coach (Taggart) were hit by a bus tomorrow, we would not target coach Meyer, period," Coburn said. "I say that with all due respect to coach Meyer, but we would not target Steve Spurrier either."
Spurrier won 122 games and six Southeastern Conference championships in his 12 seasons at Florida. His 1996 Gators defeated FSU 52-20 in the Sugar Bowl to win the school's first national title.
Meyer won two more national titles during his six seasons in Gainesville. The Gators were 5-1 against FSU under Meyer.
Somewhere, Florida and Florida State fans alike are breathing a collective sigh of relief.