EUGENE — Rumors continue to swirl around the college football world about Oregon football coach Willie Taggart.
With a number of vacancies, including Florida, Ole Miss and UCLA, Taggart’s name has been thrown around.
According to a report by SB Nation, Ole Miss had offered Taggart its head coaching job, and Taggart turned it down. However, SB Nation later said it “accidentally published” that information. It’s difficult to know what is true and what is false in these situations.
ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski suggested that Taggart already wants out of Oregon.
On Saturday night, after the Ducks beat Arizona 48-28, Taggart was asked about the report suggesting he was unhappy at Oregon.
“Do I look unhappy?” Taggart asked the reporter. “I’m not addressing any more rumors. You might have to ask that guy, whoever put that rumor out there. I’m tired of answering those. I’ve answered that before. Do I ever look unhappy? I think you always see a good smile, don’t you?”
On Sports Sunday on KGW, John Canzano talked about the rumors and said this might be par for the course with Taggart.
"I think this is going to be a regular thing with Willie [Taggart]," he said. "This is going to be the new norm. This is your life. But this is a good place to be. If you're worried about Willie [Taggart] leaving, it means he's winning games, so you're going to have to be OK living that way."
Taggart has been successful this season in turning around the Oregon program, which won just four games last season under Mark Helfrich and now sits at 6-5 heading into this week’s Civil War.
With Taggart’s enthusiasm, success on the field and energy on the recruiting trail, these rumors will only continue.