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USATSI

Florida State coach Willie Taggart is again coaching from behind the proverbial eight-ball heading into the 2019 season. The second-year Seminoles coach told reporters on Monday that the NCAA denied a waiver request to move recruiting coordinator David Kelly to an off-field role, citing the IAWP (Individual Associated With a Prospect) rule of 2016. What this means is that while Florida State will have 10 on-field assistants for the upcoming season, only nine will have specified position titles and Kelly will assist on Saturdays with his current recruiting coordinator title. 

"We tried to get a waiver with Coach Kelly and unfortunately the waiver didn't come through for us moving him off the field," Taggart said per 247Sports. "If that happens then a couple of our players will be ineligible. That's one of those unintended consequences and we thought we'd get the waiver, considering the fact Coach Kelly has been with me at two other spots, not just out out of high school."

Taggart's debut with Florida State in 2018 was rough, to say the least. The Seminoles went 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the first time since 1981. Taggart's first full offseason hasn't gone much smoother, either. He dismissed starting quarterback Deondre Francois in February and failed to sign a quarterback on National Signing Day, giving the team one scholarship quarterback. (However, FSU did land a pair of transfer quarterbacks in the following weeks.) 

It's an inconvenience more than anything, but here's how it happened: Kelly served in off-field capacities for Taggart before at his prior stops with USF and Oregon, but was the Seminoles' receivers coach in 2018. However, Taggart hired Ron Dugans from Miami  this offseason to coach FSU's wideouts in 2019 and was planning to move Kelly back to a non-coaching role. Under the IAWP rule, off-field coaches must wait two academic years before they can be reassigned to a non-coaching role. This is done to prevent coaches from hiring assistants who have strong connections to, say, a blue-chip recruit only to put the coach in some minor role in an "exchange" for helping sign said recruit. 

In hiring Dugans, Taggart would have had two receivers coaches. Now, because of the titles, FSU will be down an assistant coach on the defensive side of the ball. Football Scoop notes the Noles' defensive staff will look like this:

  • Harlon Barnett — Defensive coordinator/defensive backs
  • Odell Haggins — Associate head coach/defensive tackles
  • Raymond Woodie — Linebackers
  • Mark Snyder — Special teams coordinator/linebackers

What this ultimately means for FSU in 2019 is that some positions will be coached somewhat by committee. It's not the worst thing to happen to Taggart's staff, but it's yet another mishap in what has already been a frustrating debut.