Florida football: No way Urban Meyer goes to Florida State

The rumor mill is swelling today and while it doesn’t have the scent of Florida football, it certainly has a connection.

Let’s face it, Willie Taggart is likely out at Florida State, much to the chagrin of Florida football fans like myself who planned on kicking his Seminoles up one side of the state and down the other.

The biggest question is when will Florida State administration pull the trigger?

Taggart has a hefty price tag on his buyout — around $17 million — and the Seminoles are really in no financial shape to make that happen on top of trying to lure another coach to Tallahassee.

So, unless boosters can cobble together a good amount of green, we Florida football fans will be able to meme out Taggart like rock stars for a bit longer.

However, an interesting rumor has brimmed to the top of the rumor cup today.

The watercooler discussion has Florida State dismissing Taggart at some point — which should be pretty obvious — but here’s the kicker:

They want to go after former Florida football head coach Urban Meyer as his replacement.

What, what, what?

Several media outlets (mostly blogs) put pen to paper to suggest the powers at Florida State would try to lure Meyer, 55, out of retirement to reverse the dumpster fire course the Seminoles are currently on.

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Under different circumstances, I could see this as a possibility. I mean, what coach worth his weight wouldn’t want to take the challenge of rebuilding a program like Florida State back into a contender for the ACC title?

You have the fertile recruiting grounds of the South, coupled with … Tallahassee?

Okay, so you have a big area to recruit and the potential booster backing to pay for a decent staff. The facilities aren’t bad either and you can restore the program to being the talk of campus — as it has recently been dethroned by, softball, I think.

But, Meyer doesn’t go to Florida State.

The big reason is because of his tie to Florida football.

Meyer coached the Gators to a pair of national championships before semi-retiring then picking back up at Ohio State where he won another national title.

Now, he’s retired and earning his bones as a television commentator — and a pretty darn good one at that.

If he values his health, family and, above all, sanity, he stays away from Tallahassee … far, far away.

My guess is Florida State may have a little more patience in Taggart, but if the losing continues, he’s out.

What usually happens is the hot-seat coach gets a big win to save his job. Let’s just hope that program-saving win doesn’t come at the expense of Florida football.

Regardless, I see little on the radar to suggest Meyer would return to Florida and coach Florida football’s biggest rival.

It might be a little more feasible he returns to coaching at someplace like Dallas, as he alluded to here:

I can see that as being a more plausible destination for Meyer than Florida State.

Remember, No. 7 Florida football is off this week, but returns to action next Saturday in Jacksonville against No. 10 Georgia.