FSU Fans Already Trying To Buy Out New Coach, Still Woefully Short on GoFundMe
Can a college athletic department create a contract so terrible that even the power of crowd funding can’t buy it out?
Beleaguered fans of Florida State’s football team appear to have the answer for that question.
The Seminoles are 1-2, and coach Willie Taggart is on the hot seat, having earned the wrath of fans in Tallahassee.
According to a report, some of those fans have taken to GoFundMe to try and raise the $21.25 million required to buy Taggart’s contract out.
And their results?
Well, let’s just say that J.J. Watt’s record for most money raised through crowd donations, achieved in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, isn’t going to be threatened any time soon.
Florida State fans have raised (drum roll, please) … 31 bucks.
The nine Willie Taggart buyout GoFundMe accounts have raised $31 total dollars. https://t.co/m0hxBrttYe
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 16, 2018
The school and its fans look like it’s stuck with this one because it’s prohibitively expensive to let Taggart go. But allowing him to continue to coach is a recipe for turning off recruits — no NFL prospect wants to play on a losing a team — and angering boosters.
The ‘Noles haven’t just lost two games. They’ve gotten embarrassed in two games and even the team’s lone win wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence.
Florida State is already 0-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, losing 24-7 to Virginia Tech and 30-7 to Syracuse.
They were down in the fourth quarter to a Division I FCS opponent before barely squeaking past Samford.
They are looking more and more like Clemson’s easiest out as the new powerhouse of the ACC tries to steamroll its way to another hoped-for classic national championship game against Alabama, the team Dabo Swinney’s bunch beat in 2016 for all the marbles.
The loss to Syracuse was so bad that Florida State was outgained by 200 yards, went just 1-of-14 on third down, and looked utterly lost on the field.
Meanwhile, Taggart’s contract provides him ultimate job security, as not only is it too expensive to fire him this year, but it probably won’t get any better next year.
But hey, maybe those GoFundMe donors can use the $31 they raised to purchase something to drown their sorrows while watching FSU’s next on-field debacle.
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