Florida State fires Taggart after 21 games

Florida State fired head coach Willie Taggart on Sunday, the team announced.

The Seminoles fell to 4-5 on the campaign with a 27-10 loss to rival Miami on Saturday.

"I think very highly of coach Taggart and wish him well, but in the interest of the university we had no choice but to make a change," school president John Thrasher said in a release. "We will support our student-athletes in every way and do all we can to return to the winning tradition that is Seminole football."

Defensive line coach Odell Haggins was named the interim coach.

Following the departure of Jimbo Fisher in 2017, Florida State poached Taggart from Oregon and signed him to a six-year, $30-million deal.

The pairing didn't work from the outset. The Seminoles went 5-7 and failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 36 years in their initial campaign under Taggart. It was their first losing season since 1976.

Taggart lasted just nine games into this year. His tenure at Florida State ends with a 9-12 record and without a win versus Miami, Clemson, or Florida in five total meetings.

The buyout for Taggart is one of the biggest in college football history at more than $17 million, according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.

Taggart released a statement Sunday afternoon, expressing his disappointment with the firing.